


Metanoia

by TheProfoundSilence



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Amphitrite Being Awesome, Angry Apollo, Apollo's Mindscape is so Dark, Apollo's Tragic Love Life, BAMF Percy Jackson, Betrayal, Bisexual Percy Jackson, Crying Percy Jackson, Dark Apollo, Divine Politics, Father-Son Relationship, Forced Marriage, Gen, Jealousy, Kidnapping, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mentions of Myth & Folklore, Mind Games, Mind Manipulation, Mindfuck, Oblivious Percy Jackson, Obsessive Behavior, Paul Blofis is a Good Stepfather, Politics, Poseidon (Percy Jackson) is a Good Parent, Possessive Behavior, Protective Hermes, Protective Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Protective Siblings, Redemption, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Sibling Rivalry, Sick Percy Jackson, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Stalking, Triton Being a Good Brother, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Undersea Politics, Yearning, Zeus Being a Good King, Zeus being a Good Uncle, vengeful gods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 64,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25219204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheProfoundSilence/pseuds/TheProfoundSilence
Summary: Nobody ever warned Percy Jackson away from one love-sick sun god, and nobody told him to take sincerely the tragedies he had carelessly dismissed. As for Apollo, he is willing to do anything and everything to get what he wants. A millennia just hasn’t been enough for him to understand that his destructive love can only ever hurt. Dark!ApolloEDIT (12/12/2020): Do check out the Author's Note at the end. I've updated a few things. It's an important analysis of the last chapter.
Relationships: Apollo/Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Triton
Comments: 797
Kudos: 1167
Collections: perseusjackson





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Metanoia (Greek): the spiritual journey to becoming a new person
> 
> This is extremely dark and Apollo takes a while to get his head on straight. Nothing happens or is even attempted, but Apollo definitely has very dark urges and thoughts and of course, a dangerously dark past. You have been warned!
> 
> READ A/N BEFORE STARTING! WARNINGS THERE.

Percy Jackson was the ultimate forbidden fruit, the one who was so out of reach that he was like food to Tantalus. He was the Hero, the champion of Olympus, he was the definition of what a hero should strive to be, of all a hero could be.

He had Artemis' unabashed adoration, he had The Big Three's protection behind his back. No matter how beautiful and handsome he was, Olympus had been duly threatened by Zeus and Poseidon to not chase after the hero, to not tarnish their champion. _He deserves more respect_ was the general consensus.

But here's the thing: it was impossible not to love Percy because Percy loved everybody and everything like it was the only thing that mattered.

Because Percy was fierce and wild and wasn't afraid to fight, wasn't afraid to stand up for himself, didn't worry about what other people thought, didn't even worry about what gods thought, because all that mattered was doing the right thing.

Because when Percy helped, it was never about the reward and really just about helping people and when he killed, he still looked down at his enemies with empathy and not disgust.

Apollo had promised himself that he would not love, not after Cassandra had betrayed him. Not after Coronis and Marpessa had run to the arms of other lovers, forsaking his love, betraying him so terribly. Not after Daphne and Cyparissus had turned to trees. Not after Hyacinthus, his beloved Spartan prince had been killed by a jealous god.

He had had many affairs, of course. There were so so many mortals to bed and he even cared about them to some degree, but the last time Apollo had looked at a mortal and fallen so fiercely had been for Hyacinthus and perhaps Admetus and Apollo was almost panicked to find that even that flame seemed to almost pale in comparison.

Gods just didn't feel as strongly as mortals did. How could they? They lived unchanged, untarnished and powerful, always ethereal; for them, time was a fleeting after-thought they rarely worried about. They had so much of it after all.

But mortals? They themselves were fleeting and small, they tried to live and feel and do everything at once. They burned so bright but they burned away fast.

But when he looked at Percy, his insides lit up. He felt more strongly than he ever had before. And he wasn't even sure what he was feeling or why he was feeling it like this.

But he was.

He peered from up above to stare sometimes at Percy Jackson. He pathetically peeked in conversations that were about him (and boy, were there a lot!). Sometimes, his prophetic dreams besides the usual tapestry of the Fates' spinning wheel, peered around Percy Jackson.

His laughter, his smile, his exploits. Simple, everyday things that had nothing to do with the fate of the world.

Ever since the Trials, he had felt his darker urges coming out, which wasn't a surprise. He was the god of both plagues and healers. His name meant both 'destroyer' and 'purifier'. He was known both for his good-natured humor and his dark phases of anger.

And boy, had the trials made him angry. He had felt so helpless, so lost. Now that he was back, he needed to feel in control, but it kept getting worse because he had fallen for Percy Jackson.

Which was the most cliché thing anybody could possibly do.

Just look at his friends, trailing after him like lost little ducklings. Look at the campers, staring at him like he was the last breath of oxygen in a dying world. Look at the world yearning for a piece of Percy Jackson even when they all know there is only so thin one person can be spread.

He wanted to take Percy away; just hide him from the world so he could be Apollo's and Apollo's alone. Which was ridiculous. Not even Olympus could hide him away and take him from this world if it wanted to.

Diseases spread, his dark mood tarnishing his domains. The sun hit a solar eclipse, a total solar eclipse, his sun being marred by Artemis' light. Nobody bothered him. He hadn't been this angry, this volatile in decades and even his own twin could only look at him concerned, directly affected by his dark moods much more than any other god who shared domains with him.

He promised himself to not look at Percy Jackson, the dashing hero, the savior of Olympus. That would be his end, he just knew it.

He didn't need to be the god of prophecy to see the path; his thread-bare self control was the only thing saving Percy from a tragic fate and Apollo from yet another doomed love story.

And yet, the more he thought about it, the more his heart whispered _maybe he could be the one._

After all, Percy Jackson had yet defied the Great Prophecy where they had been almost absolutely sure of his death, he had defied death and predictions about his doomed fate, he had defied Kronos and even Athena's logical gloom-filled ideas about his inevitable path.

Why wouldn't he defy Apollo's tragedy? In fact, maybe this was his chance.

It's all the encouragement he needs, it's not like gods have good self-control anyway. They don't need it.

The first time, he tries to corner Percy is on a deserted street. Before he can though, a man on the street over (drunk or high or something at least because he keeps almost falling over and needs the support of a wall) yells out something disgusting and perverse.

"At least give me a smile, pretty boy."

Percy shot him a look, but didn't say anything, just kept his steps confident and firm and walked off with a distasteful look. The man with the chipped off yellow teeth leered at him with his ugly face but didn't pursue him.

When Apollo walked out of there, he had already started a new epidemic and there was a guy behind him screaming in pain. He would not be having an easy life, what with the nasty cocktail of diseases in him.

He would beg for death and still not get it and when he finally did, he hoped Hades was there to pull him down. Apollo couldn't influence the Judgement in the Underworld but he had heard that Hades had a soft spot for his nephew. And even if not, Apollo would ensure his life was hell enough.

It was the least he could do.

And Apollo was so so _good_ at this.

The next few times Apollo just follows him quietly.

There is Percy with his baby sister, Estelle. A _mortal_ sister.

He hadn't known about this though then again why would he? She wasn't divine, not even a little and she was so boring in her simplicity. No prophecies or glory for her, no sir, she was just a normal baby with a normal life who might never even know about the divine world beyond the Mist, because she couldn't even see through it.

That was boring, but Apollo suspected that Percy preferred it this way as he made faces at her and did the airplane to feed her.

He laughed with her and when it was time to go, he kissed her forehead and Estelle looked at him with the adoration of a thousand suns.

"I'll come to visit soon again," he whispered to Estelle, soft and warm like butter and Apollo pulled away from the scene before he could wonder how Percy's warm smile would feel directed at his own.

Knocking on the front door of Percy Jackson's apartment in New Rome that had been a gift from the Romans (free of cost for a great leader and former Praetor), Apollo casually tries to school his expression into something calmer, a little less intense.

The door opened and Percy blearily stumbled out, a thin white shorts and a pair of small black boxers on him. "What the Hades…?" Percy looks sleepy and rumpled and so so cute.

Apollo ridiculously can't help but smile. He leans against the door-way and gives Percy a very not-so-subtle once over.

_Good gods, what were the Fates thinking when they designed this perfection?_

"Apollo," he recognizes. He doesn't anything about Apollo blatantly checking him out, but then again he does look too disoriented to think much. But now his eyes are rapidly starting to flash with awareness. "I think it's like 4 in the morning! What kind of quest cannot wait until at least the sun is up?" he snaps.

Apollo hastily rearranges himself into a more serious position, standing a little more upright rather than just falling half-way on the door. "Please don't make that face. You look scarily like Poseidon when you are angry." He smelled like it too, a storm and disaster just waiting to happen, his aura started cackling with the scent of danger and the air itself stilled in his presence.

Percy puts his hands on his hips not changing his expression in the slightest. Apollo shudders. The first thing he learned when he came to Olympus was to show respect to Zeus and stay away from Hades. Poseidon was fair game. Until he got angry. Then not even Zeus could really save anyone from his wrath. Nothing and nobody could.

And Poseidon is so attuned to his children that he would have no trouble recognizing his anger and would come calling at the hint of danger.

"It's not about a quest." Apollo mumbled.

He waited for Percy to get angrier and throw him out if he was lucky. Maybe into Tartarus, if he wasn't. If any one mortal could do it and somehow get away with it, it would definitely be Percy Jackson. Because Apollo could try to take on Percy Jackson. But his father and uncles would destroy him for it.

_And there is a part in his heart, which says he might not stop him…_

But surprisingly, his eyes soften and he takes one step away from the door and from Apollo. Children of the sea, notorious for their unpredictability.

"Come on in," Percy said impatiently when Apollo didn't move. Apollo came in.

They were miles from the sea, but even here in this tiny little apartment in New Rome, it smelled like the sea, something soft and wonderful. Apollo looks to Percy and studies him as gets out a couple of glasses for water.

He is beautiful. Thick dark black eyelashes framed his mesmerizing green eyes (so so green and so pretty). His cheekbones are sharp and angular and his lips are plush and soft. The curls on his head softly frame his face, giving him an almost divine look.

 _Percy would make for a magnificent god_ , Apollo thought wistfully. It was really a shame he had refused.

Percy slammed the tray down on the table across the couch from where Apollo was sitting, lost in thought. There were a few cookies and sweets as well as 2 cups of hot chocolate.

Apollo looked up with one quirked eyebrow.

"You looked like you needed it," came the reply. Then, more tiredly, "Gods know I do." He sipped his hot chocolate.

Apollo didn't grab his, just sprawled on the couch as if he owned it. "Why do you think I am here?"

"Why are you here?" Percy tiredly parroted.

Apollo blinked, taken aback. He had assumed that Percy must have an idea, a hint at least of why he was here, maybe right or wrong, but really…he must have been invited in for a reason. He shrugged nonchalantly, "I was bored."

Percy stared with knowing eyes. "I'm sure."

"I mean," Apollo tried. "Olympus is fun and all but I just thought it would be a good idea to find a few mortals to bed." He punctuated the last remark with an exaggerated wink. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Then why are you here?"

 _Seriously,_ Apollo thought, more breathless than annoyed, _why are you this_ ~~ _adorable_~~ _dumb?_

Apollo shrugged.

Percy was starting to regain the mischief in his eyes as the hot chocolate woke him up. "Come on, let's go see you rise from your temple."

In the end, after Percy got changed (Apollo pouted a little but didn't say anything) they did go to his temple which was one of the grander ones. Romans didn't worship a lot of gods, but those they did worship, they worshiped in style.

Apollo had thought that being here would be as productive as being on Olympus, yet another startling reminder of his divinity and yet another startling reminder of all those he had loved who were not.

But being with Percy was different than being with anyone else, and he couldn't even put a finger on why. Maybe it was because he was so naïve and innocent and clueless despite everything he has seen and has had to face.

"Who is that?" Percy wondered at the depiction of Apollo mourning his Hyacinth and another one of Daphne running from him as he chased after her.

"You're joking, right?" Apollo was so startled he forgot to be angry. Otherwise, crush or no, he would have smote this demigod where he stood.

 _That had probably what helped him survive this long,_ Apollo decided. _People can't actually believe the words coming out of his mouth._

Otherwise, Poseidon or not, Percy would have been smote down long ago.

Content he had solved one mystery (and stubbornly ignoring the part of him which said that he would chase Percy to the ends of this world and would hardly harm him even for the most grievous of insults), he tuned back to Percy saying, "-only learn about the myths when I need them."

"How do you have time to learn about the myths when you need them?"

Percy gave him a dry look, that sweet glint of mischief in his eyes, his mouth almost curled in a smile. "I ask them, of course."

But good gods, he was _perfect._

"Of course." Apollo echoed dutifully.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Percy waved his hand to the temple scene. Apollo didn't answer, just tugged Percy until they were both sitting at the edge, legs dangling down, a perfect breeze softly ruffling their hair and the moon slowly setting at the side as Apollo dragged his sun from the east.

Percy watched the sun rise, then glanced back at him and back to the sun rising again and muttered, "Some things you just never get used to."

Apollo smirked, his divinity helped him understand the world so much better than mortals or even demigods could ever hope to. It was the first time since he had reclaimed Delphi and gotten back his immortality that he felt actively grateful for it.

Apollo studied Percy who was seriously watching the sun rise, a serious line to his mouth, eyes pretty and focused on his sunrise which was extra special and beautiful today.

"They were my lovers." Apollo said finally, when he had taken his fill of staring at the most beautiful thing around (it would _never_ be enough).

Percy turned back, blinking at him, head tilted as if to say _what were we talking about, again?_

"The scenes in the temple. They were my lovers. Well, a couple of the most famous ones."

Percy blinked. "Okay. Wait, did you marry any of them?"

Apollo looked at Percy oddly. "You really don't know much, do you?"

"I never had reason to learn about you and you never said. I have never heard of your wife but then again, I had never heard of Mr. D having a wife until he almost strangled me with his vines."

Percy had a way with words. This was a tragic topic, he had never not been somber when he talked about his lovers. It always turned foul. But he found himself smiling as he thought of Dionysus trying to strangle Percy with his vines.

"Yes," he coughed to hide his laughter. "Dionysus has been a little grumpy lately."

Percy gave him a sour look, and Apollo laughed. Actually laughed! If Olympus heard that Percy Jackson could calm his sour moods…

It wasn't even that funny but… _Wait till everyone realizes that Percy can calm_ **my** _temper. And he can definitely calm down Poseidon, the rage monster. Nobody would ever let Percy refuse godhood if they knew._

"Okay," Apollo said chucking. "Imagine if you were forbidden to go to the ocean for like, a year. And taken away from your home to serve at a place where everyone who comes in dies in like, a week. And horribly and painfully at that. Wouldn't you be angry?"

"Demigods don't die in a week."

"That's how it feels like to us."

Percy quietly mused it over. "That sucks," he declares. "Why would Zeus do that to his own son?"

Apollo is already shaking his head. "Zeus is a ruler before he is a father. He has to be. And well, we do serve on the Council so we are serving him in a way. Besides, gods don't have families and relations like humans do. And we are different of course, so he has to hold us accountable in some way. Zeus is many things but he does not practice nepotism. "

"What did he do?" Percy wondered.

Apollo froze uncertainly. Percy had a high morals, higher than their world could possibly understand, higher even than the deplorable filth in the mortal world. How would Percy react to the idea of a god he knew, stalking and harassing and eventually raping a young nymph? And that Zeus had only intervened because she was his daughter and begged him for help?

"Chased a nymph that Zeus said was off limits," Apollo said dismissively. If Apollo was the one to clue him in on just how deep their perversity ran and if it somehow led to resentment in Percy (and good gods, what if Percy somehow read up on Poseidon's exploits, he might just actually _die_ ), then Apollo would be in big trouble.

"Why was she off limits?"

"Maybe Zeus had his eye on her." Apollo suggested and was satisfied when Percy rolled his eyes and huffed. Danger averted.

"Anyway, we were talking about me of course," Apollo said, the same air-head Percy had met long ago, casual and easy-going. Something about Percy just brought it back to the surface.

Percy seriously nodded, quirking his lips as if to say _go on. Impress me._

"I have never had a happy love life. Of course Eros and I haven't gotten along in ages." He didn't mention that really he had only ever fallen in love a handful of times in his life. Could be counted on one hand and still have fingers left over.

The rest of his lovers were usually one-night stands, as the mortals would say. The few that did last a bit longer, well, after the relationship ended, Apollo usually cared about them even less than when he was with them. Which was saying a lot.

Lovers aside though, he fiercely loved all of his children (though not, Apollo granted, as much as Poseidon loved his. Poseidon did not much seem to care whether his children were monsters or unwanted or spoiled as long as they were his. But Percy was certainly his _absolute favorite_.)

"One time he got so angry at me, he shot me with a love arrow and made me fall in love with Daphne. And then he shot Daphne with a hate arrow so she could properly really hate me. When she saw me coming, she ran away and got turned into a tree by her father Peneus."

"I was," he breathed harshly. "I was of course heartbroken so I swore to always honor her. The tree she had been turned to was a Bay laurel tree and I swore to never let it decay, which is why it is always evergreen. And I always carry a piece of laurel wreaths everywhere I go."

He didn't mention that it hadn't been love, rather lust that Eros had provoked in him because it hardly mattered. He didn't mention that Eros had only done so because once when Eros had admiringly looked up to him, he had made fun of him and his silly arrows.

It _did not_ matter. He was the victim here.

Percy looked to him sympathetically, eyes wide and green and so much like some cute little baby seal he hardly looked like the warrior who had fought all those wars. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have pried."

"It's alright. After all, we are friends, are we not?" pressed Apollo. _Don't manipulate him, don't guilt him into increasingly escalating situations._

Percy bit his lip but nodded abashed. "Sure. We can be friends."

"Friends," Apollo echoed and if his voice was more hopeful than twisted, his eyes a lighter shade of blue, his domains a bit more benevolent than they were malevolent, it was all his business.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ! IMPORTANT.
> 
> Okay first things first, Annabeth here is not a potential love interest. In fact, she and Percy have never dated in this AU.
> 
> Percy is freely and comfortably bisexual. He is neither shy nor awkward about this fact.
> 
> WARNINGS! I had originally started it as a three-shot but this has gotten a little away from me. Remember my warnings last chapter? Yeah, this might take a step over that. Read tags again. Not much changes yet but it might in the future so keep an eye on those tags. Do not read if you are unsure about this because it's always better safe than sorry. To all those who are still interested, this will be a slow burn with a redemption arc.

Being friends of course meant that Apollo had freer reign to do as he pleased.

Not always of course. If the gods got a whiff of him around Percy…But beyond that, being friends was good.

Apollo would happily saunter in Percy’s room where he’d be sleeping and tell him to ‘Rise and Shine! It was time for the sun to get up.’

Actually, the tradition had mostly started as an accident.

The first day Apollo had just stared for a good 10 minutes at the sleeping figure in the bed (like he sometimes did, just looked in to see how Percy was doing). Percy was sleeping so peacefully, legs curled up and hand under his head, a habit from his questing days when he was so used to sleeping on hard ground without pillow or mattress.

He looked serene, blissful like he might stay just like this forever.

And Apollo…Apollo couldn’t resist.

He leaned down and softly kissed Percy’s lips. _There,_ he thought darkly satisfied. _Now I have claimed you in some way. And no matter what, I suppose a part of you is now mine._

Before Apollo could go any farther or even decide to flash away, Percy stirred.

It was nothing, likely just him turning in his sleep, but it was enough to make Apollo panic and do what he did best: break into a cheerful song.

Percy startled so bad Apollo found himself at the business end of his magical sword, “What,” he had gritted his teeth. “are you doing here?!”

“I came to wake you up, friend. Aren’t you going to help me rise the sun, friend?”

Apollo thought for sure he was a goner, _Avenge me, Arty, I am so dead._ But Percy got out, his movements jerky and angry. “Why,” he snarled. “can’t you rise the sun by yourself? Haven’t you been doing this since forever?”

_Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t-_

“Not since Helios faded and left me alone. And you think it’s fun drawing the chariots every day with nothing better to do?”

“Don’t you have other duties?”

“Loads.” Apollo nodded. “But other parts of my consciousness are doing those tasks.” he tsked at Percy’s dazed expression. “You really think one super-powered human can do all that needs happening? The fabric of reality would tear apart. We may take humanoid appearances when interacting with demigods. Doesn’t mean we are human.”

Percy sighed and left to go get changed.

Apollo just thanked his lucky stars that neither Poseidon nor Percy caught onto him.

Percy was fun to be around, cool and easy-going. In between his dumb jokes and complete naïve innocent ignorance about how terrible this world was, Apollo found it almost hard to reconcile that image with his destructive warrior visage on the battle-field where he had sent his enemies fleeing in fear.

Until one day Apollo had to ask, “What kept you going during the wars?”

Percy looked to him, his smile fading. “I am sorry?” His tone was calm but there was a hint of frost beneath his words that stirred Apollo back to the battle-fields in which Percy had always reigned supreme and when initially Apollo had first extended his hand at an attempt at friendship and almost gotten killed over it.

“Like,” Apollo said, a bit off-kilter now that he was used to Percy the big teddy bear and not the fiery feisty son of Poseidon. “What made you fight? Because I kept thinking about my secret stash of special ambrosia up alone in my palace the entire time.”

Danger averted. Percy snickered, his aura which had been cackling with danger just seconds before calmed out. Apollo relaxed. Children of the sea, Apollo thought.

That day Apollo realized that Poseidon is way way more terrifying than Zeus and Hades could ever hope to be. Which was ironic. Because Hades lived for his terror-filled reign and Zeus was a king so image was everything and Poseidon was usually the laid-back prankster who was always laughing.

One day, when Apollo came to wake up Percy (after staring for a good 10 minutes and helplessly kissing him once, then twice and then forcibly pulling himself back and reluctantly shaking him awake. His waist was still warm beneath Apollo’s hands as Percy had reluctantly opened his eyes, a little dazed and pouty, and it had been all Apollo could do to control himself), he suggested Percy drive his chariot.

Percy got up, a little sluggishly and very reluctantly. He sat at the edge of his bed, head drooping sluggishly as Apollo chattered on.

“Do you know how to drive a car? Of course you do, you drove me to camp, I remember. My chariot is a little more complicated, but I am sure we can work it out and-Percy, why aren’t you getting dressed?”

Percy sighed and got up tiredly and went to get changed. (He no longer wore boxers to bed, which was a shame.)

“Are you sure Zeus wouldn’t smite me for this?” Percy asked when he came back out, his curls flawlessly and gracefully framing his face. Apollo wondered dreamily whether Aphrodite had blessed him.

“I am sure you will be fine.” Apollo said dismissively.

Percy did not look convinced. Or happy in any way. “You know, smiting would really be a perfect end for this terrible week.”

“...It’s only Wednesday.”

Percy gave him a tired look, like _I know, right?_

“What happened? Friends tell each other these sort of things, don’t they?” Apollo hated the idea of having missed even a single detail of his life but he could not be with Percy all the time. Well no, he could. If he was willing to potentially tip Poseidon off and face his wrath.

“I’ll tell you in the chariot.” Percy didn’t even argue. “But you’re still driving. I really don’t want to get smote.”

Apollo awwed but resolved to get permission from Zeus. He was sure he would get it. Everyone was bending over backwards to soothe his rage and seemed to think it was working, not that Percy Jackson had done all the work. And really, why would they?

(Though really, they were helping too. If anyone tried to annoy Apollo right now, they would be in for a _nasty_ surprise.)

Percy was unusually still all the way until they were in the air. Apollo prompted, “Percy?”

And then Percy did something he would _never_ have imagined in his wildest dreams: he put his head down and put his hands to his head and cried.

“Percy,” he said hesitantly, a little something in his chest he couldn’t quantify. Apollo would never say he had idolized the hero, but well, he was an impossible man, the greatest demigod ever, and well… there were certain expectations from such a grand hero.

“It’s okay,” he muttered. “It’s alright.”

And usually Apollo in his dark moods was only ever amused or quietly vindicated and satisfied, perhaps even turned on by someone’s distress and tears, but Percy had turned and surprised him so much so that he only felt a healer’s compassion and a protector’s concern for the hero next to him.

At least that’s what he told himself.

His concentration wavered and he let his ‘car’ change back to a chariot, the horses carrying the carriage were certainly the fastest fire-breathing horses ever (in Apollo’s totally biased opinion) and they were sat in an extravagant chariot.

Apollo didn’t even blink even as Percy jumped in surprise. He just told the horses to keep to their intended path, as they easily would. They had completed this journey millions of times.

“Percy,” he said, voice unintentionally soft. “Tell me what has happened.”

“It’s just been an awful week.” He sniffled.

“Yeah, but what happened?”

“Something. Nothing. It’s just you know, when sometimes nothing seems to be going right and the things you normally would be able to tolerate just snap your limit and the things you love aren’t that wonderful anymore.”

Apollo is startled. He had never heard it described like that before. It’s always cowering and sacrifices and parts of the world burning and dying until he gains back his focus.

“Does-does it happen often?”

Percy shrugged, no longer crying. “Sometimes, sure. It’s just all the bad things building up and sometimes you just need an outlet to let it out.”

“How do you let it out?”

“I talk to a friend,” he smiled mildly at Apollo. “or usually in my case, multiple friends. I rant and I cry. I train and kill some monsters. I eat my favorite foods and shamelessly eat sweet stuff all day long. Stuff like that.”

“What else?” Apollo asked, a quiet intensity to his tone.

“It’s different for everyone. Everyone has their coping methods. Like, Rachel-yeah, your oracle, Rachel,” he laughed at Apollo’s surprise. “she likes to invite me over and we both sit at her couch and watch something or the other and eat ice-cream and candy in our pajamas. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she doesn’t. Usually we fall asleep on the couch.

Jason likes to take a hike through some hill, go to the highest place he can find, somewhere deserted and alone and just look out and scream and get it out.

Nico used to run away, but that’s not healthy so now he’ll just lock himself in with Will, away from other people when he is sad.

Annabeth likes to solve math problems. I really, really don’t get that one. When she feels calmer, she’ll spar with other people to get her frustration out. It’s an unspoken agreement that we should give her a fair fight but always let her win during this time. She can’t deal with a bruised ego right then. She hates it when people see her cry so usually she likes to cry alone.

I have got a bunch more. It’s just, everyone has their own.”

Apollo mused over this silently. “I don’t have any such thing. I just curse mortals and get destructive.”

Percy gave him a cautious look. “…I saw the news.”

Apollo absently nodded. “I want to try this,” he decided on a whim.

“Try what?”

Good question. Hunting monsters? No can do. Crying or screaming? Pfft. Math? He was the god of it and it was pretty excellent but eh, pass.

“Movies.” he decides. “We will eat ice-cream and candies and watch movies.”

“Um, I don’t-”

“Today night.” He nodded to himself.

“That’s not what I-you know what, never mind. I am getting late for my college classes so if you could drop me off? And yes, I suppose. Movie night.”

“Just the two of us?” his intent is a bit darker.

Percy doesn’t pick up on it, just shrugs easily. “Why not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very proud of this one, but the fun starts in upcoming chapters and I needed to set the tone. Also, this update came Friday, a day before it was supposed to, which has two reasons. One, I am as always impatient.
> 
> More importantly, two, I will be willing to give the next chapter on Wednesday/Thursday followed by one on Sunday. For this, I want reviews and kudos and just a little appreciation. No reviews or very few of them? I will still post next Friday and we will go for our usual chapter per week. If you guys want more chapters though, I would like a little appreciation if there is anybody out there who actually does like it. Because I won't lie, sometimes it's like shouting in a void. Constructive criticism is also welcome here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, you guys: the next chapter. I have already written over 16k words on this thing, which is just a little over 6 chapters. The further out I go, the more I hate the previous chapters. But I also know that if I start editing the first chapters, I will stop writing ahead and I think it's more important to get something out to edit later than to have nothing at all. I hope you guys like it even though I am not sure I do and I hope you review and follow and favorite. It really makes me happy to see it.

Movie night is okay. It’s dull. The only thing bearable is Percy sitting just a few inches from him on the couch, smelling like the seas in a casual t-shirt and pajamas, barefoot as he sat cross-legged on the couch.

Percy had something to say about _everything_. The entire time they were watching, he kept making comments and sharing opinions in between his bites of ice-cream, tapping an unsteady beat on his knee.

Percy was not very fond of movie nights. He was ADHD and the son of the ever-changing sea and his idea of a good time was not lazing on the couch. He still kept Apollo company throughout.

He got steadily more restless but he sat there, until finally he started yawning in boredom and finally, helplessly fell asleep.

 _I could do anything, absolutely anything to him and he couldn’t resist._ Apollo thought as he stared at the demigod dozing off, head resting on the arm-rest, his body curled in a ball.

Of all people, it is Chione that pops into his mind. She had been a fearsome warrior too. Beautiful and courageous. Nowhere at Percy’s level of course, but then again few mortals could stand against the Hero of Olympus.

She was the first lover that Hermes and he had shared (there had been so many after that). Hermes had put her to sleep and raped her and happily invited Apollo to do the same. They had laughed over it like it was nothing.

Because it was nothing. He cared not for her even though she had borne them both sons and had not even interfered when his sister had killed her when Chione had insulted her pride. (Though he had felt sorry enough for her father’s grief to offer his own brand of help).

He thinks about it, doing the same to Percy, ruining his life and his psyche. Just pushing him down and keeping him there and laughing and getting off on his tears and his sweet sweet begging. Ruining the Hero of Olympus. How empowering.

It would be so _easy._

And yet, it felt so taboo and dirty and wrong. He repels in grief and anger at the thought of Percy’s trauma and tears.

He thinks of Percy happily rambling about something or the other, galaxies in his eyes and laughter in his smile, hands waving as he makes some inane comment between bites of ice-cream, him turning to Apollo and easily saying, _Just the two of us, why not_ and him frowning lightly as he reluctantly muttered _Sure. We can be friends._

They had come a long way from that reluctance.

That’s all, Apollo decides. He doesn’t want to ruin his hard-earned progress. It’s not like he actually cares for the demigod. That would be insane.

In his entire immortal life, he had cherished many relations with mortals but they had all been requited love affairs where they had cared and adored him as he was meant to be adored.

In fact, Admetus who had been his lover was such a good friend that he himself had found him a good match and wished him the best when it came time to move on. He had loved his Hyacinth, a mutually respectful companionship he had been comfortable with. He had even cared for Cyparrisus, a dear lover that Apollo had turned into a tree at his own request.

But he does not do unrequited love.

He lusted after mortals, sure and even chased them if need be. But he did not fall in love with them before they cared and loved him too because that would so foolish. He did not do unrequited love, not when there were so many throwing themselves at him.

“I don’t love you,” Apollo informed the slumbering demigod whose consciousness did not stir from the dream world.

He did not even really know Percy Jackson.

Regardless, Apollo covered him with a blanket. It was healer’s intuition and nothing to do with his fondness and he absolutely did not linger longer than he had to.

Of course not.

He doesn’t go to pick Percy up and doesn’t get permission from his father to let Percy drive and he hides and hides and…

People run around in terror and hospitals fill up and diseases keep piling up and he still doesn’t feel _better._

Watching movies, what a silly suggestion.

One day, while high up in the sky, he looks down. And there he is. Percy Jackson.

He is fighting the Chimera of all monsters but Apollo remembered he had faced it once before and gotten away at just 12 and if anything who can look at such a fearsome beast and think nothing of it, it is Percy _fucking_ Jackson.

Gods of Olympus, he hated the petulant impertinent sarcastic brat.

Then Percy carelessly stabbed the Chimera in the mouth and grabbed his sword before the beast had even disintegrated and flung it like a projectile to the approaching hell-hound that Apollo hadn’t even noticed.

And there it is, that same calm grace, that easy confidence that stirs something in him.

He wants to look away though that would be shameful, a sign of weakness like something really is wrong. It feels even worse to keep looking but he can’t stop.

 _Signs of a guilty conscience,_ Artemis would say.

Percy isn’t even doing anything very interesting. He is leaning down to talk to a little boy; Ares’, Apollo can easily tell in a glance. Of course, the Ares brat adores Percy; though who wouldn’t after that display?!

Percy holds out his hand to the kid and is infinitely gentle and patient with him, his eyes kind with a sweet smile on his face.

Percy was a warrior, he wasn’t a carer. And for the most part, he let others handle the newbies. And why shouldn’t he? He was better than wasting his talents on little brats. He served the gods directly.

So why was he here right now? This was way below his skill-set.

Apollo felt discontented. Percy didn’t even _like_ Ares.

And yet, there is none of that arrogance in his stance. He does not demand compensation from Ares for helping what is so very obviously his son and he treats the kid like he would a little brother: a little indulgent but obviously protective with none of the merciless teasing that is common with actual siblings.

_I adore you, Perseus Zale Jackson, and I did not even think that was possible because I don’t even know you and I don’t ever_ _~~fall in love~~ _ _have crushes. Not ever._

The sight of his beautiful black curls and his sweet gentle smile and the way the sun-light sparkled in his sea eyes: it was almost as he was touching a forbidden fruit from afar; he held that memory deep in his heart. But mostly, he held onto that quiet compassion and unconditional kindness, like everything and everyone deserved a life and happiness and he would do anything and everything to grant it.

The hospitals mercifully found some solace.

Apollo comes in almost a week later. He had gotten permission from his father because really, it was just miraculous Zeus hadn’t caught up to what was happening yet but was only probably because Zeus was keeping his distance and trying not to interfere in Apollo’s mood swings.

He was partly the reason for them after all.

Their conversation had gone something like, “Father, would you mind if I teach someone else to drive the chariot?”

Zeus looked cautious but unwilling to deny him so easily. “Who do you have in mind?”

“How about…Percy Jackson? That works, right? He is worthy enough.” Apollo nodded to himself as if he’d only just thought of him.

“Yes, I suppose that’s fine.” Zeus was still surprisingly cautious. Before Apollo could pick up on why- “Apollo, no flirting, no kissing, no cursing, nothing. I mean it. If you can’t control yourself, pick another mortal. Any other.” Ah, that’s it.

“An unworthy one, even?”

“Even an unworthy mortal. It’s better than the other option.” Zeus sounds firm. “And Apollo, if I find you two are ‘dating’, I won’t care if it’s mutual and exclusive and pure love, I will make you regret it, mark my words!”

Apollo was surprised that he was surprised.

Percy Jackson was their hero. Did it really matter he had a pretty face, when he had so many more important qualities. He was fooling himself if he really believed that everything would be just okay and dandy, that he would be forgiven for this slight.

And now that Zeus knew, Poseidon would know soon enough. And they would both be keeping a sharp eye on him, especially when he was around the demigod.

He still walked into his apartment.

Percy was fast asleep, legs and arms askew, face serene. He didn’t touch Percy, not even an innocent touch that he could easily justify in the privacy of his mind.

_But really, he could justify almost anything to himself._

He sang him a cheerful wake-up song and laughed as he woke up blearily and abruptly, refusing to feel guilty at something so mild.

“Apollo,” he muttered. “I thought you got bored off.”

Apollo shrugged, not correcting the assumption that he hadn’t stopped visiting out of boredom.

“I want to teach you to raise the sun,” Apollo said, smiling at him. His smile had nothing to do with his bed hair and sleepy pout and those sparkling eyes. “It’s a Sunday so I am borrowing you for the whole day.”

Percy frowned a little but agreed under the condition that such trips be otherwise agreed in advance. “I am free today, but usually I am quite busy even on Sundays.”

Apollo said nothing.

He teaches Percy how to drive a little under Zeus’ and Poseidon’s undoubtedly sharp gaze. Percy needs a lot of help in car mode, but is infinitely smoother and happier in chariot method.

Afterwards, when they are taking a rest, Percy went over to his horses.

“Your horses are beautiful,” Percy gushed, letting his fingers dance through the horse’s back. “Absolutely gorgeous.” And normally, his horses would breathe fire and then eat the cooked food off of anyone who dared it that was not Apollo.

But the horse just whined smugly and told Percy to do it _this way, you ungrateful fiend!_

Percy didn’t get offended, just laughed and did it her way as she bragged to her companions. Apollo never minded such bragging and petty fights, he liked it when they fought over him.

But Percy told them that they were _all_ beautiful and even more so when they worked together. It was the sort of thing that worked on children, not age-old beings but it seemed to appease them as all 4 of them collected around him and patiently waited their turn.

“What are your names?” he asked the horses, but Apollo answered, “Pyrois, Aeos, Aethon and Phlegon.”

Percy hummed, still grooming them as they happily sat down, contented.

It was a nice setting, beautiful, heartwarming even.

But really, all that made him feel like was a monster. Because if Percy was the fair princess and the dashing prince, then he had to be the cruel villain, someone controlling and vicious and evil.

“Do you think I am a monster?”

Percy looked to him in surprise, “Why would you think that?”

 _Not a ‘no’ then._ Apollo said nothing.

“Apollo, is it…is it about the diseases and stuff?”

 _Not really. More my perverse habits_ , Apollo thought. Partly perhaps. Or maybe it was something else. A life crisis maybe. Apollo has had a few in his life.

“Look, you are not human. And spreading diseases and getting people sick is as much your duty as curing them and you can’t shirk one side of your responsibility to focus on the other. There has to be a balance.”

Apollo looked to him in surprise, because he knewall that but hadn’t expected Percy to get it. Percy caught his surprise and smiled wryly “Son of the god of natural disasters here. I know all about rage and destruction and I get why it’s so important to have both.

And Apollo, if Chiron were here, he’d tell you that monsters are important to the real world. And they aren’t just something that can be destroyed because they are a part of us all. We all have them inside us and there is some in our loved ones and sometimes there is more than a bit in someone and that’s just what life is. It’s not fair, it’s not good or bad, it’s not even about win or lose, it just is. You keep going and hope to make something out of it, I guess.”

“That’s probably the wisest thing I have heard you say.”

“It will never happen again,” Percy carelessly assured him as he got back to grooming the horses, infinitely patient and gentle as if he were prepared to do this all night, if that’s what it took.

 _He had a limited amount of time_ , Apollo thought curiously, _and he has to sleep long hours and eat and do so many many things that mortals need to do because they are fragile and he has college and training and he’ll still sit here and do this. Just because it makes them happy._

Apollo wasn’t sure he understood. It felt foolish, naïve, short-sighted. It did not stop the warm feeling in his heart, watching Percy groom and talk to his horses with a calm smile.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are people out here who loved Oenomel too. Which is fair. Alex is awesome and Percy adopting a super-powerful badass companion is just what I need to make me feel good about myself. So, remember how I said I might write something more in that universe? Yeah, turns out I did write something more there. It's not uploaded yet, but anyone interested should keep an eye out there because I have to edit it a little but it will be up soon. To all those who have not checked out my other stories, I would recommend you go check them out because I am pretty sure you would find something or the other to your liking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came back before I said I would. Sweet, huh? I am so excited! So the fun parts start here...Let me know what you think. Also, the myth about Chione in the previous chapter was all true. Check it out, it's pretty easy to find.

Apollo had decided to be a ‘good’ person, because Percy was genuinely, painfully nice and good and he would never forgive Apollo if he decided to do it his way. That is, if Poseidon left any pieces.

Which meant no more stolen kisses (Zeus and Poseidon were both watching Percy like a hawk now, which would embarrass Percy if he actually knew and they would kill Apollo if they knew) and absolutely no stalking. But it did mean making Percy fall in love with him.

Apollo did what he usually did when he needed help: he enlisted Hermes’ help.

He didn’t ask Aphrodite or Artemis for help because not only would they not help, they would actively hinder his plans and try to ‘protect’ Percy. What a ridiculous idea.

He went to Hermes and said, “We should hang out, me, you and Percy Jackson.”

“Percy Jackson?” Hermes frowned, getting surprisingly serious. “Apollo, don’t do anything stupid. I mean it. He is not one of your random conquests.”

Great. Apparently even his best friend was on Percy’s side.

Apollo wanted to correct Hermes, _this isn’t just another silly conquest. This one will be mine for eternity, no matter what I have to do to get him._

But that would not help his argument.

“No, no,” Apollo changed gears. “Just for fun. I think he deserves a fun night out.”

“Are you sure you are up for that?” Hermes asked cautiously. “You have been frying mortals left and right.”

“I can’t say for certain I won’t fry any more, but I won’t do it in Percy’s sight. Or somewhere it can lead them back to me. Besides, he has been helping me calm my temper.”

Hermes looks to him surprised, then chuckles. “Always with the impossible, that child.” He said fondly. “And well, you won’t show your temper in front of Percy? Good enough for me. Does tonight work for you?”

They hadn’t asked for Percy’s approval beforehand so they manage to crash land during his job.

But well, that cute little apron looks just adorable on Percy, so everything is worth it.

They go and calmly get seated and watch Percy stand at the cash register, looking bored and irritated. Which was a surprise because the place was packed.

He jumps up to help another waiter who is carrying three dishes at once, but the waiter just walks away with a smile and ‘I got this, man!’. Percy huffs in irritation.

Another waiter scurries towards them, looking a bit frazzled. “Hi, I am Andrew. How may I help you tonight?”

Apollo lets his sunglasses melt off, showing his fiery eyes, then let them slowly turn to his calm blue. Hermes to his side is trying to tame his two snakes. They are not in ‘original form’ but it’s not hard to guess who the two of them are. “Just get us Percy Jackson.”

Andrew nodded frantically, eyes wide as he bowed so low he almost touched the ground. The other diners and wait-staff look towards them in fearful reverence but before they can decide what to do, Percy Jackson walks towards them.

“I got this, Andrew. How about you handle the cash register?” Andrew nodded quickly and _ran_ out of their sight.

Percy didn’t bow to them or anything, just slid in the spare seat gracefully.

“Percy,” Hermes said with an amused smile. “Have I told you how much I appreciate you lately? No bowing, no foot-licking, no pleas for help. Just good old-fashioned friendship. I like it.”

“Why don’t you tell them to stop?” Percy questioned.

“Oh, they wouldn’t do it any way,” Hermes said evasively. Apollo didn’t call him out.

They might not do it any way, but they would never even try it. They had a fearsome reputation and nobody would be giving it up easily. All the boot-licking and the pleas and the sacrifices were right up the gods’ alley.

They didn’t _need_ them, the humans. The eldest gods and Titans had been around before humanity had ever even been fashioned from clay by Prometheus. Even after they had been made, it would take a long, long time before they could have made sacrifices and temples.

Even after that, humans had been almost extinct several times in between and they had just perked right back up. Like cockroaches.

So yes, they didn’t need them, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t like it.

“Anyway, how about a fun night out?”

“I am on the clock.”

“You don’t seem to be doing much,” Apollo pointed out but then immediately wished he had kept his mouth shut.

Percy however did not take offence. “I am really not. Nobody lets me help at all. I am thinking of quitting, but the last job I quit was over 4 months ago and they are still paying me even though I have left them many messages and even gone done in person to talk to them.”

“You are annoyed because you are getting payed?”

“No, I am annoyed because I keep getting payed for nothing. Nobody lets me work and they still fork over the money. I don’t need charity.”

“Why do they keep doing that?”

“Apparently, I saved the world and I am a hero. I go out for groceries but someone else has already payed for me before I can say anything. The cashier waves me off when I go to get something. My house was a gift from the Romans, which I was willing to accept because apparently every serving Praetor when they retire is gifted one. But it just keeps getting ridiculous.”

“Most people would like that.”

“I did not do all that people said I did. There were so many other people who helped and they deserve the credit for that. Usually, I was just there, in the middle of everything. But that isn’t to say, I did it all. I mean, everyone still keeps calling me the Prophecy Child, but that wasn’t my sacrifice. It was Luke’s. And it’s just not fair that people keep forgetting that.”

Apollo stared at Percy as he passionately ranted, too absorbed to even notice the two of them.

And Apollo thought almost desperately to himself, _this is why I adore you Perseus Achilles Jackson. You shine so bright, brighter than the stars and the sun up above, I would know._

What the Hades, it’s not like he could hide it from himself much longer. He had to accept it, at least in his own heart. He had serious actual feelings for Percy Jackson, as in he actually _loved_ him.

“Alright,” Hermes brought him back to the present. “Are you coming with us or not?”

“Depends,” Percy said slowly. “What does a fun night mean?”

“Booze, drinks and girls. And guys. Usually at the same time. Dancing. And well, after drinking and drugs, it gets a little wild so we’re never quite sure how it goes but we usually wake up in weird positions. And I am not just talking about sex.” Apollo stopped to take a breath. Percy was staring open-mouthed wide-eyed at the two of them.

_Thank me, I did not go into details about the nymph or well, anybody’s any other conquest. If this is enough to break him…_

There is a silent, awkward pause as they all try to avoid staring at one another. This has just blown up spectacularly.

“I am underage,” Percy finally manages to get out. “My mom will kill me.”

“How would she know?” Apollo asked.

“She will know.” Percy insisted. “Moms are magical. They always know.” Which is just cute.

“No, no,” Hermes said, seriously. “Percy is right. He is a little young for drinking right now, and it would be irresponsible of us to do it.”

Apollo stared at Hermes. _Since when do you care about being responsible?_

Then thought: Luke Castellan. And then realized why Hermes looked a bit older, almost 29-30 instead of his usual mischievous teenager. He felt paternal towards Percy Jackson. Luke was gone, but Percy was still here.

Apollo felt his mood worsen. Was there anyone not against their epic love story?

“I know,” Hermes said thoughtfully. “We can go to a mall.”

“What do you do in a mall?” Percy asked.

Both gods stared at Percy. “Haven’t you ever been?”

“Have I ever been in a crowded place where I could be monster buffet and be easily trapped?”

“Mall it is then.”

Getting Percy out of there was a breeze. Hermes started with, “We need Percy for-”

And the owner bowed low and said, “Yes, of course, milord. I understand.” Percy blushed at their behalf, embarrassed. Apollo and Hermes did not say a thing though.

Percy wanted to go get his wallet and credit card and get changed. “I am not going in this uniform. If it’s a fun night, I should wear something fun.”

Apollo alarmingly thought of Poseidon’s idea of ‘fun’ t-shirts and Hermes must have been thinking the same because he hastily said they could buy one on the way.

“I still need my card. And I left my wallet behind. I usually never buy anything on the way so I rarely keep it on me. Just some loose change in my pocket.”

“We can buy you whatever you want,” Hermes is quick to assure him.

“I have one chance to actually buy something with my own money and you still won’t let me use it.”

“No, because we are literally Olympian gods and saying money is no trouble is an understatement. We have more money than the richest economies in the world. Besides, we are getting late here.”

Hermes went to ‘his’ store, that is to say his first stop was Hermes.

“We have to buy Percy a shirt first,” Apollo reminded Hermes before he could go insane again. The god had adored the idea of having a store by his name so much he had gotten them insane deals and kept them from sinking even when times got rough.

“Right, okay.” Hermes said sheepishly.

Apollo got him through the first clothing store they saw and before he could assure Percy they could somewhere else if he didn’t like anything here, Percy had already picked one. “This one,” he decided as he pointed to a simple blue t-shirt.

Hermes and Apollo looked at him, perplexed. “Why this?”

“It’s blue,” Percy shrugged with the same logic a toddler uses when he goes shopping.

“Do you have anything designer? Like suits and jackets? Stuff like that?”

“Why would I have anything like that?” Percy asked perplexed. “I never need them. Well, I did buy a suit for mom’s wedding but a monster swiped at it on the way home so...” Percy shrugged.

“What would you wear on the solstice meeting?” Apollo asked.

“What I always wear. A camp t-shirt and jeans. Though really, I think the bigger question is which camp t-shirt should I wear so I don’t get labeled a traitor?”

“How about you wear a nice suit?” Hermes said insistently.

“One, it is difficult to fight in them. Two, they are going to get ruined fighting whatever it is that I am fighting."

Hermes looked at him with an exasperated glance, like he was being deliberately difficult. Percy shrugged back helplessly. It’s not like he could help it.

In the end, Hermes and Apollo did their best to help even when Percy kept saying no to everything good (Why are you buying me expensive things? They are all going to get ruined-No, not that one either!). Finally, they sent him off to one side and picked up a few pairs of jeans and t-shirts and a couple of suits.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Percy implored to them again. They both looked at him in exasperation.

“Okay, okay,” Percy rolls his eyes, feeling a bit uncomfortable by the way they were throwing money around. He had never grown up in the sort of money that could ever make him take it for granted. “What now?”

“My store,” Hermes decided enthusiastically, and with a flick of his wrist sent out the clothes to Percy’s room in New Rome. In the end, they shopped for a good hour buying various expensive and as Percy pointed out ‘useless’ luxuries.

Percy perked up when they passed a candy store and they brought insane amounts of candy.

Apollo takes the excuse to stuff his mouth to not have to participate. He can stare unabashed at Percy as he talks about something or the other.

It’s not about what he is saying, it’s about the intent passionate expression on his face and the way he gestures with his one hand, the other holding onto his bag of candy.

What is so special about him? It’s nothing quantifiable, that is for sure. Sure, he is beautiful and he is a terrifying warrior. He is brilliant and ruthless on the battle-field and kind and loyal to his comrades off it.

But he is nothing like any of Apollo’s other conquests. He does not understand arts and he is not a good singer and he does not look at Apollo like he has hung the stars and the moon.

Apollo still can’t stop staring at him.

Percy starts drooping when they sit down to eat, tiredly eating his food in slow lethargic movements. “This was fun,” he told them, tired but content.

The trouble started half-way through dinner.

“Percy? Percy Jackson?”

Percy looked up to see Jonathan Christopher Williams. “Jonathan?” Percy said in surprise. He got up and accepted the hug, smiling almost shyly in a way Apollo had never seen before.

Then he glanced behind him and looked awkward. It would be rude to not introduce them but they were gods. Jonathan was an ignorant mortal. This was a recipe for disaster.

Percy shook off his trepidation. “Jonathan, these are my cousins. Um-”

“I am Fred,” Apollo is quick to take over. “And this is Alan.” Hermes flashed a quick-sliver smile.

Jonathan sat down in the spare seat without prompting. Apollo’s mood worsened, his domains rattling uneasily. Hermes froze and glanced his way, eyes wide. _Not here,_ they seemed to say.

Apollo let loose solar flares. They would hurt and burn, not much but enough to let his anger out. And he had been thinking up a new disease. But he wouldn’t lose control here, where Percy could see it. He smiled coolly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“Oh, hi,” Jonathan seemed absolutely disinterested in them, though he did flash them a cursory smile. His pretty teeth, his black hair, his striking blue eyes. The worst was the way Percy looked at him, almost something bashful and shy in him, the way Percy Jackson was never around other people.

“I thought you had to move back to France.”

“I did. I moved back though after grandma died.” And oh gods, his accent. Sweet mother Rhea. If this were any other time, he would already be in Apollo’s bed or on the way there. But now? Now Apollo just wanted his petty mortal frame slowly disfigured and ruined, his eyes sick and lost.

Maybe he could flay him alive, Apollo thought casually, like he had done to that satyr. But that would be a bit unoriginal. He had already done that once before after all. And this one deserved his undue attention.

“Really? Why was that?” Hermes tried to participate through his mounting worry.

“I had someone to get back to,” Jonathan said, glancing to Percy in a way that left Apollo no doubt what he meant. Percy looked surprised, but in good way. Apollo broke the steel spoon in his hands underneath the table.

And what do you know? A new disease. He was starting to get a little bored of his own unoriginal ideas. If he was to destroy, he should do it in style.

“I looked for you,” Jonathan said. Where had they even met? This was a simple boring mortal. How could he have ever met Percy Jackson? “But you had been expelled.”

“Again,” Percy laughed.

School, of course. Apollo tried to control himself. He had to make Percy Jackson fall in love with him, it would not do to smite mortals he seemed to like and make Apollo the villain. But it was so difficult. He had rarely been denied things in his entire immortal life. Whatever he didn’t get, he took as was his birthright.

His eyes turned from a soft guileless blue to a fiery red more befitting the god of war.

Percy seemed to sense something was wrong; he looked up to his flaming angry eyes and blanched. Hermes looked a little desperate now.

“Jonathan,” he said hurriedly. “I have to go. Mom, you know how it is. It was great meeting you though.”

Jonathan did not let it deter him. He grabbed Percy’s hand and hastily scribbled a number out in bold ink. “Call me. Anytime.” Percy tried for a smile, but there was something like worry in his eyes. The world around them was crackling with the force of a god’s wrath.

“Bye, Alan. Bye, Fred,” he smiled sweetly at Apollo.

Too late, Jonathan, Apollo thought darkly. He had sealed his fate when he touched Percy. An innocent coy smile would not save him from eternal damnation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter regrettably did not get much response. I hope you guys can be a bit more generous this time around? Please review and let me know what you think. Also, I will try uploading twice a week now. Easier to stay attached to the plot that way and I have already written 7 chapters and started the 8th so I think I can afford to do it for now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The further out I go, the more at sea I feel. Am I doing it right? Is this where the story should be at? Am I missing something or inadvertently creating plot holes or something? Then I just close my eyes and trust my judgement. I've gotten this far by myself, I think I need to trust myself to get me further too. Sometimes it's harder than it sounds. I am at chapter 10. I have already written 9 of them so far. 24k words without A/N or anything. I am so excited to see how it goes!
> 
> Anyway, there are two questions I was asked that I have to answer here:
> 
> 1\. Who is Jonathan? Percy is a demigod. As in, he is half god but he is also half mortal. Of course the gods tend to forget that and most demigods don't bring it up in life or death situations, but he spends more months in school and with his mom, living a boring mortal life than he does at camp. So does that mean he spent his entire life without having friends in the mortal world that is not a satyr or a half-brother cyclops? I don't think so. In some schools where the delinquents are hard enough to not raise an eye at his records, and there is another misguided soul…Why not?
> 
> 2\. Why would Aphrodite not support a good old love story? Honestly, several reasons. One, is she really willing to piss off the Big Three just for some kicks? Apollo sure doubts it. And then there is Apollo's history with love…she does not seem too fond of him and he is definitely not a fan of her. Besides, in the myths, Aphrodite is portrayed as a mischievous goddess, causing trouble when she could. Even if it was possible to get help from her, Apollo would not. The price he would have to pay would not be worth it. If she put her fingers in this mess, nobody would be coming out without some deep emotional scars, that's for sure.
> 
> WARNINGS for mind-manipulation and Apollo being Apollo.

"We should get you home," Hermes said a bit harried. Percy also kept throwing Apollo looks, but they were more in concern than wariness.

He had never faced a god at his worst, after all. All his opponents had been fair on the battle-field. He did not know that love could them so much more wild than war ever could. They were fair in war and battle-fields because it was the honorable thing to do. Not so much in love.

"Oh, I am not tired at all," Apollo got out his godly pair of sunglasses and put them on. They could hide his eyes, the true look to his soul, but he did not want to leave Percy now if he could help it. And Poseidon was watching his son, more so since he had sensed his anger. Apollo could not possibly spy on Percy at night either.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked innocently, his eyes sincerely concerned.

Apollo smiled at Percy a bit more genuinely. "Yes, just-" He waved his hands, unsure on what to say.

"You are just in a terrible mood?" Percy guessed. "Happens to me all the time."

"I have never seen that," Hermes said bemused.

"Well, yes. Just because I am having a bad day does not mean I will go around spreading the joy for other people. I usually just stay away from other people when I am having that sort of a day."

Most gods and even mortals would not show such courtesy. Most people who could get away with selfish behavior and callous remarks tried to get away with it. He had seen the rich entitled people, boring same old, the lot of them. And Percy could get away with a lot.

"You are too pure for this world, you know that?" Apollo said seriously.

"It's just common courtesy!" Percy looked incredulous, but there was a hint of a blush and a smile on his face. Apollo's sincerity had surprised him. Hermes stared at Apollo calculatingly, something almost repulsed on his face.

"We are dropping Percy off right now," Hermes told Apollo coldly. "And I am glad you are not tired. Because we have to have a talk."

Percy looked between the two uncertainly, but didn't push.

"Let's get out of here first." Hermes pushed. Before Apollo and Hermes could really get into it, Percy said, "Wait, wait, wait." And made for the exit. "I just gotta do something first. Won't take more than 5 minutes."

Apollo made to follow, but was stopped by a firm hand on his chest. "Hermes, what do you think you are doing?" Apollo asked with a forced calm.

"What am I doing?" Hermes mocked. "No, what are you doing? Perseus Jackson? You could not have found someone worse to pursue. Give this up, Apollo. Now!"

"Oh, I'm sorry? I did not know this had anything to do with you. You are supposed to be _**my**_ best friend, Hermes! We swore to always take each other's side and help each other out, remember?"

Hermes' eyes softened at the memory. After the cattle and the lyre, they had become fast friends and sworn to each other to hold true to that friendship. And they had held fast all these millennia.

It was perhaps part of the reason they had never married: they had never felt the need for companionship as strongly as the other gods. They had been content that they had freedom to do as they pleased but also the loyalty to each other when times were hard.

"You are my best friend," Hermes said softly. "But please Apollo. Not Percy Jackson, anyone but him. You know how much he means to me. He is all I have left of one of my most cherished sons, and he means something to me in his own right. He-I would have been honored to have him as my son. I wish he were mine. He is a good kid, okay? Anyone but him."

Apollo looked to Hermes, conflicted. They had set down some ground rules early on on their friendship so it would never clash. One of the top ones was no flirting or pursuing anyone that they were both interested in, for whatever reason.

Apollo never chased after Hermes' son as Hermes did not go after his. They shared lovers or gave up on people they were both interested in. They respected each other's boundaries in what had to be one of the healthiest relationships in the godly world.

Lying to Hermes or even defying him would destroy his most cherished relationship to date.

He put on a fake smile, his heart beating fast. "Hermes, of course I remember our promises. You know I would never just betray you for a fling."

Hermes' eyes softened and he nodded, relieved. Before he could say more, Percy came back in, shivering and with his arms wrapped around his torso. "It's raining out and the winds are picking up it's so so cold." He said. "Let's just get out of here. I need my bed and blankets."

"Where is your hoodie?" Apollo asked.

"And your over-shirt?" Hermes asked.

It was a cold day and Percy who had been wearing three layers was now down to just one flimsy t-shirt more appropriate for a June hot summer.

"There was a guy out in the corner," Percy said pointing with his thumb to the windows that overlooked the streets. "And he looked really cold, which was not an exaggeration because it is cold out and he could not even keep himself from getting wet like I could. So I gave him my hoodie but then there was this other guy…it seemed so unfair so I gave him my over-shirt."

"What?"

"I know. It still wasn't fair, but that shirt was pretty thick. I just hope it's enough."

"Percy! Now you are going to get sick."

"No, I won't. One, I am a demigod. Very strong immune system. Two, I don't come from money. Trust me, I never get sick. It's cool. Though I do get cold, so please let's just get out of here."

Hermes gave him a look but still made as if he were putting a jacket or robe or something of the sort on Percy. A fancy jacket settled on his shoulders.

"Thanks, Hermes."

Apollo tried not to show his emotions. He thought about and mentally performed a complex brain surgery so he would not get angry. He was for the very first time in this whole thing actually really irritated by Percy.

A homeless guy out on the corner? _That_ was worth getting sick for? Next, Percy would be wanting to weave the little cockroaches something to wear too.

Gods had fallen so low, Apollo realized in disgust. They used to eat mortals and laugh as they went squish below their feet. Then Prometheus had armed the little humans and now, here they were. If this continued, next they would be wanting sacrifices from gods. Apollo was really starting to rediscover his earlier disgust for mortals.

But more than that, he was also a little angry at Percy. Mortals were holding him back but he wasn't trying to break free. He deserved so much more, he was worth millions of those. And he still did not see it.

There was goodness and there was stupidity, and Percy had just jumped the line.

"Why did you do that?"

"Why did I do what?"

"The mortal," Apollo said slowly the way someone might talk to a particularly dumb child. "Why would you help him by giving up your own jacket?"

"I told you, he needed it. Much more than I did. It's so cold out he might even have died. Or at least gotten very sick. And I doubt he has health care. All I have to do is get in my blankets in New Rome where it's usually great weather anyway."

"That is so ridiculous."

"What do you mean it's ridiculous?" Percy asked, his trademark smirk fading to something stormy. "It makes perfect sense."

"Perfect sense?!" Apollo asked incredulously. He shared a glance with Hermes, who looked like he agreed with him because he didn't stop him but he also made no move to help Apollo win the argument. "I mean, mortals were just appetizers and entertainment, which was fun. Then they started worshiping us which also made sense, so I was willing to help them out here and there. But what's their point now except for sex?! Which I could have gotten even without all of this nonsense?"

Hermes elbowed him. Hard. Nodded to Percy who was staring at the two of them in horror, hands over his mouth. "You eat mortals?" He tried to say, but it just came out soundless. He opened his mouth again, closed it. Looked a little ill. "I-" Percy tried, then just shook his head.

Percy wanted to be horrified, but it just wasn't computing enough for his mind to actually feel terrible about it. He felt like he was hearing about the plot of a gruesome story-line from someone, nothing particularly concerning, something distant and ultimately beyond him.

He didn't realize how on edge he was until he jumped high when someone clapped him on the shoulder. He sheepishly did turn around. Then really did scream when he realized that the hand was just a hand. As in, there was a hand on his shoulder. With no body.

Poseidon materialized a second later which was all the time Percy's heart needed to try it's absolute best for a heart attack. He put his head down and tried to calm his racing heart and catch his breath. "I hope you are happy that you have definitely shaved a few years off my life." Why was his life like a horror movie today?

"What the hell were you doing?" Percy had to ask. Poseidon had never appeared like that to him before. Half of him forming at one point and then not.

"I just came to check up on you," Poseidon said, evasively. "These two somehow manage to always mess things up. I wasn't willing to leave you alone with them. And then you seemed a bit irritated."

Percy's mind blanked. He had been irritated, hadn't he? He still felt riled up, annoyed, maybe even a little scared? But what had he been thinking…?

"He just wanted to go to bed. Apollo said he wasn't tired though," Hermes said. When Percy looked at him, his eyes were a little blank, his expression a little flat.

That was right though, wasn't it? He had wanted to get to bed and Apollo had been saying something about not being tried yet. Then why did he feel that cold chill of anxiety? Something was missing, maybe his mind had gone to some dark place it wasn't supposed to go to. Poseidon's surprise visit had disrupted his thoughts.

It could be, it happened sometimes. Nightmares he didn't remember but those that left him cold and anxious the next morning, shivering in a way that even the hot water could not wash away.

"Yes," he said almost in a daze. "I am tired." He tugged at his jacket…Something in his mind tugged for his attention. Nothing. He tugged at the thought. Something about his jacket?

And then he just let go.

He did not realize when his eyes fluttered close and he did not feel himself fall and he did not even try to break his fall. He fell into Poseidon's arms behind him. He did not see his father catch him and cradle him, gently, softly as he flashed them both away.

He did not feel Poseidon carry him from his living room to his bed, very carefully setting him down in the middle. He did not see Poseidon tuck him in and curl one hand around his ankle as the god adjusted him on the bed as if he was just a life-sized doll. Softly, chastely kiss his forehead and cradle his head, run his fingers endearingly through his hair.

Percy just slept and did not dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Poseidon is here! Not in the way you guys were hoping or looking forward to, I think, but there is time for that and Poseidon will be a rage-monster protecting Percy from the big bad wolf soon enough. Please leave a comment if you have the time. You have no idea how much it means to me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this one is a bit short. Only about 2000 words here. But I could not merge this chapter with the next. Totally different tones and well, I also have a 4000 word chapter in the future so fair's fair I guess. Besides, I'll be updating on Tuesday this time. Quick enough, right? To all those who were super creeped out by the last chapter, sorry. This one is not that bad and next one is total fluff so a sweet reprieve from mindfuck. Don't worry though, the good behavior won't last long.

When Percy came to, it was to a sun god staring earnestly at him. And Percy felt so calm and relaxed he did not jump, did not even make a sound of exclamation or surprise. He just blinked and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to check up on you," Apollo smiled, but there was something almost false about that smile. "We were supposed to raise the sun together but you seemed tired yesterday so I let you be."

Percy cautiously nodded and looked to his windows. The curtains were open as they usually were. He liked natural light. The star-light and moon-light when he was sleeping and the sun that woke him up as it rose. He did not even mind the cold all that much. Annabeth said it was because he a child of a sea deity, that he was born wild, that he liked everything natural and pure.

Right now, the sun was rising up on the horizon and unthinkingly, Percy asked, "Who is raising the sun?"

Apollo gave him a weird look, "I am." Right. Percy was an idiot.

He shook his head and rubbed at his face. Looking down at his hands, he remembered Jonathan. His number was still on his hand, not at all smudged, just as bold as he remembered. Somehow Jonathan's hug was the only real solid thing he remembered from the night before.

"Was dad there?" Percy remembered. He barely remembered meeting him, he was so tired by that point all he could remember was a dazed haze of conversation in which Poseidon had tried to reach out for him and all he had managed was mumbling and groaning.

Percy put his head on his hands and groaned, "Gods, dad was there last night and I was too tired to even talk to him. I am such an idiot." Percy felt bereft, like he had lost a wonderful opportunity, something that he had had a chance at.

His mood felt weirdly off, he felt…he felt anxious. Probably because dad came calling and he missed the one chance to talk to him, he thought glumly. Worst son ever. He tried to shake off the mood and resolved not to think about it.

He went off to take a shower and by the time he came back out, he had already forgotten all about Poseidon and the weird sensation of being stared awake by a strange god with intense eyes. The cold chill in his bones left him hollow the whole day though.

Percy was already awake the next time when Apollo came in because he came in not the day after, but a few nights later. Apollo walked in without knocking or even so much as a 'hi' and straight into the bedroom where Percy was too busy throwing things around.

Percy looked up, saw a random guy in his bedroom just casually watching him and jumped and got out his switchblade. It was a gift from Annabeth because it was all well and good to say that he'd never hurt mortals, but they had made no promise to not hurt him and as Rachel pointed out, he was everybody's type. (Nico and Will had booed Rachel on that one.)

Percy lightly closed his eyes and clutched at his chest. He had been scared before, but this was a different kind of threat and a different kind of fear, even though it had only just lasted for a split second.

"Apollo," he told the god. "Don't do that. That cut off a few more years off my life and frankly, my goal is only to live till 25 for now so I don't have much wiggle room here."

Apollo rolled his eyes at the sarcastic tone and walked deeper in. He looked almost rough. As if he were having some bad days, but the sort of bad days gods just did not have. His hair was roughed up, his eyes looked almost manic and when he looked at Percy, there was something almost startlingly scary in his eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked bluntly. Even his voice sounded hoarse.

"I just called Jonathan." Percy informed him. "But-" he shook the phone in his hands. "I dunno. He is not picking up. In fact, the number is out of service."

Percy looked up to see something cross Apollo's face, a hint of some deeper shadow haunting his steps and then gone again. Percy shook it off. "I mean," he continued. "he seemed so enthusiastic to meet me and now his phone is off? He was happy to see me, I wasn't just imagining that, right?"

"No, no," Apollo murmured, staring out the window to the moon. "He did seem happy."

"Right." Percy said shaking his head to clear it a little.

"Why would you want to meet him anyway though? He is mortal, you cannot have a lasting relationship with him."

"Well, no. But he was a really good friend. And we only went out for like a month after almost a year of friendship. And he helped me out of some really bad times when I needed it."

Apollo turned back to him, the same quiet intensity that had unsettled him before on his face. "Bad times?"

"Yeah, this was my last school year before I got to Goode. MS-54, it was called. I didn't know about the Prophecy then, but I did know enough to be scared. The war hadn't really started yet. Hell, we had only just had the Winter Solstice and gotten Zeus to start listening. I was scared and I needed help and there was no one around. Jonathan helped me out even though he didn't know what he was helping me out with. And now he actually came back and partly for me maybe. I want us to be friends again. He is one in a million."

When Percy turned around, Apollo was still staring at him, but there was something so alien on his face that Percy did not even recognize it. "What?" Percy asked.

"He is a mortal," Apollo repeated.

Percy gave him a look, "Yeah, so am I."

"No, you are half god. And he is just a mortal."

"Okay, there should be no 'just' there. And I am a demigod which means half mortal and half god. I am always going to have one foot in one world and one in the other. Being mortal and normal is just as much a part of my life as quests and monsters. I can't escape either."

Apollo abruptly got up from where he was lounging on the bed. Percy hadn't even realized he had been sitting there. "Come with me," Apollo said and before Percy could even ask _where_ or _why_ or _what, right now, no way_ , the floor had fallen out from beneath their feet and they were just…gone.

Percy had woken up at some pretty weird places in his questing days. But it was still startling to wake up in the middle of a forest, branches on his face and tickling his skin.

He jumped and yelped, hastily getting up and jumping up and down to remove any insects that may have crawled on. He was still a city boy at heart.

"Wha? Apollo!" Percy called out, trying to find a way out. He couldn't even pick a direction. What was North? And really, even if he did know the directions, he still wouldn't know which direction he was supposed to walk in.

He randomly picked a direction and started walking, calling out for Apollo, anyone who was around who could help. "Apollo!" he called out, rubbing at his face. What the Hades was going on?!

The dense forest abruptly cleared out all at once. And Percy almost stumbled at the sandy beaches looking out at the sea. Percy sighed in relief and ran out towards the ocean.

"Apollo!" he called out to the figure standing calmly at the turf, looking out towards the infinite horizons and the endless seas.

Apollo turned to look back at him in surprise. "Percy, you're awake. I thought you'd still be sleeping."

"In the middle of the forest where anything could have happened to me?" Percy said, a little incredulous. "Look, I know you're a god and sometimes it is a little hard to understand just how fragile we humans are, but seriously, it would have been so easy to have been mauled by a wild animal. Or even bitten by something poisonous or-"

Apollo smiled and shook his head, cutting off Percy's tirade. "I am the patron of healers. I understand the human body. Nothing would have happened to you, I promise. This is my island," Apollo said, bringing up an arm to show off his island. "I was born here. Nothing and no-one here harms any-other if I had forbidden it. And I told them to keep you safe. And they did, see? They guided your path here. To me."

"You were born here?" Percy said, looking around in awe. "But-I thought…weren't you born in Olympus?"

Apollo's smile faded to something a little more grim. "I was born out of wed-lock. Hera forbade my mother Leto from giving birth anywhere on solid land. She finally gave birth to Artemis on Ortygia balanced on the branches of a tree. My sister guided my mother to Delos the next day because it was neither an island nor a main-land. My birth fixed the floating Delos and this became my sacred ground."

"That's…wow." Percy said, wide-eyed. "So there are no humans here?"

"Yes and no." Apollo smiled at Percy's pout at the non-answer. Everyone always did this to him. "On Delos, you can find humans. But this is in a dimension adjacent to that. This is divine. And no one can come here without my explicit permission. I have invited a few gods here every now and then, but you are the first human to ever step foot here."

"Oh wow," Percy took in his surroundings a bit more appreciatively. The colors were brighter, it smelled something wonderful Percy could not identify and the air was fresh and pure, the water sparkling clean. "This is pretty awesome."

Apollo chuckled, his eyes turning a lighter shade of a bright sunny blue. "Yes, almost as good as Olympus if I do say so myself. Just a bit more peaceful, a bit quieter."

"It's nice," Percy said sincerely. "I could see wanting to live here forever."

Apollo turned to look to Percy. Percy thought he almost looked surprised before it melted into a soft smile. "I know that my invitation is a bit abrupt and perhaps not properly courteous. But will you still give me the pleasure of your company for this dinner?" he asked.

Percy had quite a few things to do. But this felt insanely good. There was a light breeze in his hair and the ocean smelt purer, cleaner than he had seen anywhere except for Atlantis. He couldn't help but smile. "I would love to."

Apollo took a bow and offered him a hand with a flourish. Percy accepted with a laugh. They both walked up the beach laughing and joking, hand in hand.

The food was excellent. The company was even better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lengthy explanation: In a way, Percy has never seen the darker side of gods. I know that the books don't really portray that because they are children's books but I have another reason so here me out here: what if the gods did not show their darker sides because he was the child of the prophecy? I mean, that was one sure fire way to get him running in the opposite direction as soon as possible.
> 
> And well, there was a mess in the Giant War but they were all a little psycho then so let's leave that aside. But after that, I can see a little respect, a little protection for Percy. He helped the minor gods so that's definitely swaying them to his side. Not all of them, but enough. And the Council has seen the battlefield up close and watched him sway the tides of two impossible wars to their favor.
> 
> I have read fics where gods are mindlessly evil, random jerks with no reasons why. But that's just not it. They are not amoral, simply neutral. And if someone is loyal and kind and respectful to them (Percy is a little lacking in the last one but he makes up for it in spirit), I don't see why they would not be willing to be a little courteous right back.
> 
> Of course they would just as unkind and cruel to all who oppose them but I don't see how Percy could have known about that. And if someone is nice and kind to you, you don't stop to question that maybe they just aren't always like that, especially when you have no proof to the contrary and it has already been established that Percy does not read or know that stuff about the gods. I mean, I can see him reading something alarming like Poseidon raping some woman or being the cause of the birth of Minotaur and thinking, Nah, they're just over-exaggerated or no way, it happened like this, it was just misinterpreted or something. Because well, he is not just loyal, he is blindly loyal.
> 
> Please review and rate. It means a lot to me. Thanks to all those who do.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't post this because I was so busy despite the fact that it's sitting there on my laptop. But here it is. Hope you guys like it!

Apollo tugged at him a little to keep them walking. Percy was too busy staring upwards. Here deep into a world, away from human interference, the stars were bright and beautiful, the milky way was actually visible (which Percy had never in his conscious memory seen in real life) and the world was clearer, sweeter than anything he could have possibly imagined.

There were fireflies and not just a couple you accidentally saw outside while you were in a field. There were hundreds upon hundreds of them, lighting up the world like mini mobile lanterns. There were a few plants that glowed in the darkness of the night, some glowed fluorescent green, just lighting up mildly and subtly, some much more obvious glowing unnaturally with a magnificent light.

In the light, some others still danced to some invisible tune, bobbing gently to the sun and the light winds.

Even walking forward, staring up, not paying mind to his surroundings did not make him fall. The trees in his path would disappear before he could hit them, there were no rocks in his path and when he still managed to fall or jumped deliberately down on the ground, the grass was always the softest, sweetest bright green that would soften his fall like jumping on a very soft bed, except it was all natural and fresh and pure.

The butterflies and birds actually settled on his shoulders, curled up in his hands when he wanted them to. It was really wonderfully perfect.

Percy looked over to see Apollo watching him with a knowing smile. Percy wasn't even embarrassed at being caught staring around in awe. This was all so perfect that Apollo deserved to know it too.

"This is all so wonderful. Why do you even go to Olympus ever? I mean, a part of me just wants to stay here forever." Percy echoed his previous statement.

Apollo's smile widened. "I don't know about forever. My idea of forever is a little different from yours. But I don't see why we can't stay a little while longer."

"Really?" Percy asked shyly. He was actually getting something good with no strings attached. He had the same warm feeling in his heart as when he had gotten sick one morning and his mom had been too busy but Paul had doted and coddled him all week long, pampering him. It had made him feel a bit abashed, a bit shy and a lot warm and like he didn't know what to do with himself. "I don't want to intrude. I know it's a huge deal, me being here and all-"

"Hey, hey," Apollo put up both his hands. "We are friends. None of this 'this is a huge honor' crap. I may have seen a few mortals get fried and I may or may not have fried a few mortals for disrespect," Apollo winked at Percy and was relieved to find that Percy just looked a little exasperated. "but we are friends. And in friendship, there are no sorries and no thank you's."

Percy grinned back at him.

They ran through the forests and jumped into the ocean. Percy found a bio luminescent lake deeper into the area and just stared in awe for ages. He had seen something like this is pictures and movies but he had never seen something like this in real life.

When he got tired, he just fell back by the lake side and yelped when he felt something under him. He scrambled up and gaped at the snake below him. It looked big and dangerous and scary black but even after Percy's rude interruption, it just slithered away, taking a moment to curl around Percy's ankle and disappearing through the greenery with amazing speed.

Percy just watched with wide eyes, a little scared and a lot awed. He turned to look at Apollo who was sitting by him, frowning at the snake. "That was terrifying and awesome at the same time!"

Apollo chuckled, the troubled frown on his face melting into something softer. "I think it's time to get some sleep."

Percy wanted to protest. There was still so much fun to be had. And back home, he still had things to do. But then he happened to glance at the stars and there was an endless sky up above, the likes of which he had never seen before and that still left him awed.

"I can sing you something sweet," Apollo suggested, one hand supporting his head, turned at his side so he could see Percy.

"Um, no. Thank you," Percy said awkwardly. He still remembered the fiasco with the haikus and the poems.

For a second, Apollo just stared. Then comprehension dawned on his face and he smirked. "Oh, you mean those haikus." Apollo snickered. "Artemis and Athena made fun of my poetry a couple of centuries ago so I swore never to let them hear the good stuff. I can do good poems." He promised with an amused glint in his eyes, winking at Percy. "Want to hear?"

"No!" Percy said hastily. "My English class was torture enough."

Apollo chuckled. "What about music? You like music?"

"Yeah," Percy reluctantly admitted. "I love music."

Without warning, Apollo started singing. Well, it wasn't singing, it was something else. Something transcendent, other-worldly, ethereal, beautiful. The entirety of English language was not enough to even remotely praise something that beautiful.

It wasn't in English, Percy belatedly, still lying down on the soft unnaturally green grass, looking up at the infinite skies above. It was a song in the ancient language.

It was a lover singing to the birds and the wolves to calm the winds so that he may see his tired lover rest, so that they may leave behind a place of heart-ache and woe and transcend deep above the place of suffering into a paradise of peace, where nothing ever dies and nobody ever cries.

He sang to the stars to shine brighter so that he may see his lover adorned in love and he sang to the trees to give the two lovers shelter. He sang to the dream-world to give them passage, so that they would not have to fear pain and could laugh in their dreams as they did in their eternal paradise.

Despite the words, the tone was sorrowful, haunting even.

"Who is it for?" Percy whispered, his eyes still on Apollo's baby blues. He hadn't been able to look away or not fall in the beauty of the song.

Apollo did not look away either, just looked back, just as intense as ever and after a moment's thought, he answered, "The first person I ever really fell in love with. The love of my life."

Percy felt sympathetic, soft. "What happened?" he whispered slowly, softly as if he were afraid to disturb the soft tranquility that had fallen upon them.

"I brought him to my favorite place and kept him safe and happy and we both lived happily ever after."

Percy doubted that was true. Apollo had said he was not married. He was still single, still a bachelor. And yet... "That was a beautiful story," he whispered, feeling a bit lost. It was impossible that the world could possibly be this beautiful, this lovely.

"Yes," Apollo agreed, just as soft. "It's my favorite one yet."

Apollo and Percy both just stared at each other from where they were lying side by side. Then Apollo leaned towards Percy and kissed him on the forehead, impossibly soft and gentle, as if it meant everything to him.

Before Percy could say anything more, Apollo started singing again, and this time Percy fell asleep before the first line was even finished.

It was probably the deepest, most peaceful sleep he had ever had.

Percy woke up so well-rested and content that he had to actually reboot his entire brain and ask questions like, _Where am I, Is it morning or evening_ and even _What the hell was my name?_

The last would have freaked him out had he not felt so good about himself.

He got up and helped himself up with the support of a nearby branch. He stretched and looked around for a way out, then shrugged and just started walking. He'd get there eventually.

The morning was fresh, pure and clean. Percy breathed in deeply to take it in.

He tried to remember that song Apollo had sung to him the night before. It was so complex and beautiful and haunting that Percy could never even try to sing it. He still hummed a little, off-key.

Apollo tsked at him from somewhere behind him. Percy turned to look at him, not even jumping at the unexpected intrusion. Back home, he was jumping at every little shadow and sound. Here, he felt so relaxed and peaceful, so secure in his safety he did no such thing.

"That was terrible," Apollo informed him.

Percy wasn't even embarrassed. He just shrugged, "I know. Not good at singing. But that song was so so beautiful. I have never heard anything like it. I wish I had recorded it so I could sleep every night listening to that," he said wistfully.

"I can come sing to you every night," Apollo assured him. "It would sound better from the source than a cheap recording device."

"You're a busy god," Percy said. "You don't have to do that. I am sure have got more important things to do."

"I always have time for people I care about," Apollo carelessly promised. Percy believed him. He accepted the hand Apollo offered him and they both walked further.

Apollo casually brought a hand over and plucked two fruits from one passing tree and tossed one to Percy. Percy easily caught it and glanced at the golden-green apples and took a bite.

"This is the best apple I have ever had," Percy said at the single bite in disbelief. It was crunchy but juicy and tasted fresh and delicious. He took another bite, smiling. Apollo smiled back at him, looking inordinately pleased with himself. He bit into his, still smiling.

"What do you want to do right now?"

Percy was a little surprised he was still welcome here, but thought about it seriously anyway. "Um, food? An apple is just not enough to fill me up."

"Breakfast it is then," Apollo readily agreed.

They sat on a couple of huge, smooth rocks on a cliff over-looking the seas. It was comfortable watching the sea be wild and free, angrily pounding against the cliffs. Nothing but pure, untamed wild.

It was more calming than Percy had expected it to be.

It probably had something to do with this being a divine land and that he was sitting next to an actual god. Unlike dinner the day before, they didn't eat on those chairs (made of wood and softened with green soft leaves) and didn't have plates.

The night before, they had enjoyed a proper 5-course meal. Now they ate stuff that didn't require plates, one in each hand.

They ate their fill and Apollo pulled him up, tugging him away from the sea. "We can climb up. The view from up above is pretty awesome."

Percy wanted to stay. The waves pounding up the cliff was hypnotizing, he could hear some sort of a melody due to the angle the waves were flowing at and the way the winds were blowing.

But he took Apollo's hand and did not protest, trusting the god to lead him somewhere good.

Apollo sang again, but this time it was something up-beat and festive, but it was still in Greek. Percy felt more energetic, more lively. He laughed without abandon, carelessly happy.

"You always sing in Greek."

"I know a lot of languages very very well. But this is and shall always be my first language. It is the one my mother sang to me when I was in the womb and it is the one I was welcomed home in. It means-it means so much to me." Apollo breathed in deep. Then sang another song, this time something nostalgic of sweet times gone long past; the sweet scent of his homeland, the streets and the rivers, the determined patriotism of the warriors who had fiercely protected their homes and the adoration he still felt for it all.

Percy felt his eyes sting.

"You sing so well," Percy murmured wistfully. And to think he had almost missed out on this by refusing Apollo yesterday.

"I can teach you," Apollo offered. "I doubt you'll reach my level but I am the god of music. I can do every music form anybody has ever sung in their voices. Hades, I can do them better. But well, we can get you somewhere."

"Oh, I doubt it. There are some things you are just born with. And I don't think I am cut out for music."

"Well, no one can be perfect," Apollo offered a smile. Percy flushed a little at the casual praise. He had never really been complimented like this before, so casually and earnestly and sincerely. As if Percy was just supposed to take it at face value.

"But-" Apollo glowed a little and entwined their hands. Percy felt a little warm, but a nice kind of warm. He wanted to bask in this but it was gone pretty soon. "A blessing. I suppose you can manage it a bit more easier."

Percy laughed in disbelief. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah," Apollo said, eyes gleaming. "But it'll be fun."

Percy grinned back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff with no strings attached? I know! Hard to believe. But next chapter is a disastrous mess so. Rate and review if you have the time! It means the world to me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys: two important things. First, you may have noticed I changed the rating a little. This is only because I was flirting right on the edge of that T-rating and I decided, better safe than sorry. But nothing explicit is coming on in the next few chapters. Or maybe ever.  
> Second, I'll be switching to uploading my story once every week on the weekends. I have my finals coming and I got no time. Thankfully, I had written a few extra chapters and they should be enough to tide me over until the exams end. Worst case scenario, a week or two without chapters before I'm back. So, that's that, I guess. Onto the juicy parts...

Hermes was not having a good day. Not at all. Hell, if he was being honest, it hadn't been a good few weeks, specifically since that idiot god Apollo had managed to kidnap and run away with their hero. If that wasn't enough, he had taken his horses and his sun chariot.

 _My crops,_ Demeter wailed in despair.

 _The stock market_ , Athena brought up in what she had probably hoped was controlled panic, but instead just came out as a shrill shriek.

 _Nobody is partying,_ Dionysus tried to lighten the mood but sighed at the anger and frustration in their faces. _Stress and panic levels are at an all-time high. Suicide rates have already started increasing and mental health is low. It's also at low priority with everything else going on, it's going to take a long time to handle,_ he finally grumbled.

The Council started chiming in with their complaints and the minor gods joined in.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus finally brought some order to the chaos.

"The diseases that Apollo spread," Zeus turned to him, Hermes because he was Apollo's best friend and if he wasn't around to take the blame, Hermes had to take the brunt of the resentful muttering and _didn't you know_ and _how could you not know, he was your best friend._

It wasn't like he could admit he had had an idea the day before, but that he could never have imagined how far around it would turn, how drastically it would change. So he just kept his mouth shut and pretended nothing had happened.

"Is there anyone here who can recall back the epidemics that Apollo threw down in various parts of the world?"

"No," Hermes grumbled. "I don't think so. We never had a reason to think Apollo would rebel of all gods." Hermes grimaced. It was no secret that Apollo was Zeus' favorite and it was also no secret that Apollo adored mortals and nature spirits more than almost anyone else.

He used to spend his life in mortal world almost as often as he spent it in Olympus. He had introduced the educational system and he had spread knowledge among the people. He was the power behind the constitution and was the spirit of the political system.

There was a reason he was hailed as the Protector and why he was one of the most popular gods among the Greeks and even later on among the Romans, despite not being a patron of war. He had cults and followers to his name and even in the ancient times, he was hailed by people and beings even beyond their direct line of control.

"Poseidon," Zeus tried to soften his tone.

It was no use. Everyone, even Athena, his worst rival winced in sympathy for the sea god. He had not worn his usual silly fun t-shirts, instead opting for a full body armor like the one he had worn in the last war.

His expression was grim and lack-luster, his eyes stormy. "He took my son," Poseidon muttered almost numbly. Poseidon looked up to Zeus and there was almost something almost blank there, like he had lost something he could not compute. "He took my-" he broke off, shaking his head. He turned back to staring blankly down, his expression brooding and stormy.

His eyes were dry, but Zeus doubted that it was because of lack of grief. He still looked like he was in shock, even though it had been 3 weeks since. To be fair though, earlier they had assumed an unknown enemy had kidnapped both Percy Jackson and Apollo.

They had all thrown themselves into damage control. Poseidon had been vexed, annoyed at the thought of his missing son, but divine enemies usually had strict rules and laws about prisoners of wars and both the missing ones had been high profile enough to make for good bargaining chips.

Zeus was pretty sure that Poseidon had been hoping for a fearsome enemy. This may be easier for Olympus, but it was harder for Poseidon to swallow. His son was kidnapped by a lovesick god. They had lived the stories. There was not much to hope for here.

Zeus felt sorry he hadn't reached out to his brother in so long. Now he didn't know how he was supposed to reach out and Poseidon was hurting in a way he never had before. He met Hades' eyes over Poseidon's shoulder and saw the look of rare concern and apprehension on his face, which undoubtedly matched his.

"The oceans," he tried to bring his brother back to the present, though an exasperated look from his wife said he had perhaps been too callous, too clinical. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. "How is your domain, Poseidon?"

This time, Poseidon looked up and he did not seem numb anymore. His eyes were suddenly fierce, angry and stormy. The sudden mood gave them all whiplash and they all leaned back in their thrones. Poseidon was angry; scratch that, he was furious. They were all wary of his anger. And this was the worst of his phases in centuries.

"Ice cold," Poseidon bared his teeth. "As they will be until my son is returned to me. My seas have frozen due to the lack of sun. But even if it returns, I shan't let them thaw until my son is returned to me. The ponds and the lakes will freeze too and this world shall have to thirst for water like I have to for my favored son."

He suddenly stood up, all 15 feet tall and pounded his Trident against the ground. They all shirked back in their seats, like little kids scared of a monster. Zeus and Hades just watched sadly.

"Mark my words, Zeus," he turned to look at Zeus and there was no denying the coldness in his eyes. His sea green eyes were now a striking frost blue. It chilled even the two brothers. "Not until my son is safely back in my arms." And promptly disappeared in a swirl of frost and and sea spray.

Even Athena did not dare to comment or add in a snide remark of her own.

"We need a plan," she finally said. "There are food reserves in place but they are very limited and cannot last for very long. We must not waste food on people if they are to die later on. And starvation can lead to malnutrition which would increase the chances of them getting some disease or other that Apollo has recently concocted. We need to eliminate some so that the rest may survive."

It was a perfectly logical plan, the sort of thing Zeus would not even blink at a few years ago. Some had to be put down to make way for the rest. That was just the way the world worked.

But he felt…alarmingly reticent. He thought of Percy, standing there and demanding impossible things of them. Each time he had asked for something, Zeus had done so reluctantly and only because he had Poseidon's backing.

Because surely it wasn't a good idea to have the Ophiataurus live, it would so easily fall into enemy hands. And surely it was a bad idea to let Poseidon's brat live, they were unpredictable to the extreme. And he had just known it was foolish to grant amnesty and recognition to minor gods after they had rebelled, like granting them a prize saying _thank you for betraying Olympus_.

He had felt sorry for the naïve demigod, who had believed they could be better, who had thought that even thousands of years of filth could be redeemed, who had still looked at gods and thought it meant they were supposed to good and pure or some shit like that.

Percy would have been appalled at the idea of putting down mortals like that. He could just see his face, the horror and disgust turning into determination. He would have done _something,_ probably something insane that would actually work.

Zeus looked almost blankly at his hands for a second. It had to be a bad sign that he wished that a mortal demigod son of his brother was there to offer him advice. How far could he possibly fall…

"Make me a plan and send me the details," he said with weary determination. "We will do what we have to." He paused for a moment in thought. "Perseus has a mortal family, does he not?"

Surprisingly, it was Hera who answered. "A mother and her husband and daughter."

They all looked a little surprised. None of them had really known about his mortal life. There was just no reason to.

"Is he close to them?" He wondered, doubting it.

Hera smiled a little, her eyes warm. "He is the perfect son. I wish-" She sent a look towards her own two sons and shook her head as they spluttered. Well, Zeus thought, that solved the mystery of why Hera was willing to tolerate and even respect Percy despite being insulted and despite Percy being born out of wedlock.

As temperamental as she was, his loyalty to his friends and family is probably had her repeatedly insisting that he could fit in with the Romans despite his unruly behavior and their fondness for rules.

"I'll protect them," she promised before Zeus could say more. "When he returns, he shall need help and comfort."

 _When, not if…_ Zeus wasn't surprised. If Percy somehow managed to reach Hades' realm, they would have to revive him, grant him godhood. Poseidon would not settle for any less, especially since they had done it for one hero before and that too Zeus' own flesh and blood.

And no matter how scared and traumatized he might be, Zeus just grimaced at the thought of what could be happening because in this Apollo really was Zeus' son, they would welcome him back and heal his scars, physical and mental.

He nodded to Hera and turned to Hermes. "Mortals, did you manage them?"

Hermes nodded. "They think it's dust storms. That there is a layer of sand and dust on their surface which is not letting the sun rays in. Of course, I had to ask Artemis to stop with her moon chariot too. It would be very suspicious if the sun was hidden but the moon was not. They will try for a few eco-friendly measures that I doubt will hurt," Hermes shrugged.

"The main concern is the people that are panicking. And panicking leads to many, many rash decisions. Nothing too major though. A few riots, murders, violence. Stuff like that. There is fear on the streets and the markets. People aren't getting out anymore."

Zeus looked thoughtful. "And Apollo…did you track down where he is?"

"His birthplace. He is in Delos."

Zeus opened his palm and something glowed in his hands. It was an old-fashioned parchment. His eyes glowed and words glowed on the paper. He rolled it up and threw it to Hermes who easily caught it.

"Do not engage with him, do not throw around accusations. Just deliver the message like a good old messenger and get out."

"I have been a messenger thousands of years," Hermes pointed out, a little stung. "I know how to do my job."

Zeus looked at him, a little exasperated. "And I know that this is your best friend and you have a vested interest in the outcome. I mean it, Hermes. Do not interfere."

Hermes gave him a blank stare and disappeared without a word.

Hermes had not been to Delos in a couple of decades.

Apollo had never really been stingy about Hermes coming in to his home, and Hermes more or less had a standing invitation to his homes as Apollo did to his. But the conflicts and the war had kept them all busy. Luke's death had Hermes in mourning for a long time; even now, the wounds stung deep.

(Hermes was not supposed to play favorites. But he had lost quite a few children in the wars and Luke's death definitely pinched the most. Pan's passing had only exacerbated the grief.)

Delos was just as beautiful as he remembered, just as divine, just as unnaturally perfect.

Hermes had barely just stepped foot there and taken in his surroundings with his unnatural speed, that is to say, barely a split second after he landed, Apollo appeared before him.

In direct contrast to the ragged look on the Council, Apollo looked good, happy even. Though the look he leveled on Hermes was blank and grim, Hermes could easily read his best friend's contentment beneath the annoyance at his unwanted interruption. It only made him angrier.

"You're not supposed to be here," Apollo said, almost coldly.

Hermes recoiled. _This_ was what it had come down to? His best friend had chosen a mere mortal over him?! He was so angry he could barely think straight. Despite his fondness for the demigod, if Percy had stumbled onto him right that second, he would be nothing but a pile of ash and dust.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself and replied, his tone just as cold, "I just came to deliver a message." Then with a bit more satisfaction, he added, "The Council has sent summons."

Apollo cursed. But really, what had he expected? He took the sun and he took Poseidon's favorite son and he expected everyone to go their merry way. Hermes felt grimly pleased. Apollo had betrayed him. _Him_ , of all people!

"What happened to not chasing after Percy Jackson?" Hermes couldn't help himself. He could almost see Zeus shaking his head at him. He banished the image. There were more important things to be done here.

Apollo looked at him and almost whispered, "I never said I wouldn't."

"You said-"

"I said that I would never just chase after a fling if it had the potential to risk our friendship."

And that was the thing, wasn't it? Apparently, Apollo cared about the demigod more than he did for Hermes. Apollo was supposed to be _his_ best friend, they were supposed to take each other's side over anything and everything. How could Apollo ever risk their friendship? How could he ever betray Hermes of all people?

Hermes shook his head and turned away.

"Please," Apollo pleaded. "You don't understand! I couldn't stop. I tried, I swear I did. But I just kept thinking about it and then I couldn't sleep and when I slept, I still saw him in my dreams and-and-" Apollo threw up his hands in abject frustration.

Hermes watched in rising alarm. There was a gleam of something almost beyond sanity gleaming in Apollo's eyes. "You are my best friend," Apollo finally tried. "Don't leave me over some mortal."

Which was very unfair. It wasn't Hermes who had gotten them into this mess and it wasn't Hermes who had broken the rules they had both sworn they never would.

And yet, was he really ready to wash his hands off a friendship that had lasted them millennia just because Apollo liked someone a bit too much? And well, he was obviously not in the best mindset here. He needed help. That thin shred of maniac insanity left Hermes no doubt that Apollo was struggling badly. And never let it be said that Hermes bailed when things got hard.

Besides, he reasoned to himself, Percy was a sweet kid but how long was he for this world really? 70-80 more years? Such a small time. What difference would it make really if it got cut down a few decades?

Zeus and Poseidon and even Hades would be angry, but they would be forgiven with time and effort. Even to himself, the reasoning was a bit weak. He knew that his father probably would and even Hades might but Poseidon would never ever forgive or forget what had happened. He would always mourn his favorite son's inevitable tragedy.

But this was what Percy got for choosing fragile mortality over grandiose power and immortality. Hermes and Apollo had always gotten into trouble together and this time should be no different.

"After this, you are going to give me something," Hermes informed Apollo with a sigh. "And you have to apologize properly and formally to me."

"You deserve it," Apollo admitted with a small smile.

"I really do. Now tell me what you have planned. I doubt you just whisked the Hero of Olympus away on a whim and hoped everyone forgot about it."

Apollo's smile was worth the incoming headache. At least he hoped so. Otherwise, well, Percy apparently believed being mortal was even better than being a god. Hermes would have the chance to experience that first-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just days after I wrote this chapter, I stumbled upon an interesting tidbit. In 526 AD, there really was a dust storm that hid the sun world-wide for a whole year! Diseases and famines spread, more than 80% of China and Scandinavia starved to death, 30% of Europe died and entire empires fell. Originally, I had planned to have Hermes ascribe this to global warming and even then it had seemed a bit far-fetched to me. Like, no way something like this could happen, right? But if it had already happened once, then it's okay, I suppose.


	9. Chapter 9

Percy looked actually, properly Greek, like the heroes of the old, like a prince of Olympus or something like that. He was also thankfully asleep.

So he didn't see Hermes walk over to the sleeping demigod and curse loudly.

"What now?" Apollo asked in exasperation.

"Nothing. I just realized that we have Percy Jackson here of all people. As in, Hero of Olympus. As in, the apple of Poseidon's eye. As in, we are so on a one-way trip to Tartarus."

Apollo rolled his eyes, but Hermes knew he was nervous too. He better hope his stupid, stupid plan would work. Hermes did not even know. It just might. It just might blow up in their faces.

It would probably blow up in their faces.

"He looks Greek," Hermes noted what he had first noticed as soon as he had seen the boy.

Apollo gave him a weird look. "He is Greek. Well," he amended. "Half of him, at least. It is the important half, so." He shrugged.

"No, I mean, he looks-" Hermes waved his hand. Like, like the heroes of the old. It was strangely nostalgic. The hand-stitched chiton on him only emphasized the feeling.

"Is that one of yours?" he said, nodding to the chiton.

"Yeah," leered Apollo.

Hermes shook his head in disbelief. "How did you even get it on him?"

Apollo looked sheepish. "Magic."

Hermes abruptly turned around. "Don't tell me you used magic for-"

"No, no," Apollo hurriedly assured him. "That was of his own free will."

Hermes still looked cautious. "You sure? If they find traces of magic, you know it counts as direct and deliberate manipulation-"

Apollo pouted but nodded. "It's not actual manipulation. Just the natural essence of this place, keeping him a bit more calm and docile than he might naturally be. Like, we have been here for three weeks and he hasn't fought me to go home yet. He has mentioned it in passing but he is easy to distract."

"He would have torn you apart if he was in the right state of mind." Hermes said incredulous but impressed all the same. "No way he wouldn't have guessed what was going on." Still Percy had enough strength of mind to see past the manipulations of an Olympian God. Hermes was impressed. Whatever else he might say about Apollo, he had chosen a magnificent creature to fall for.

He eyed the sleeping demigod peacefully sleeping on the ground, hand cushioning his head. A plant curled softly around his ankle, floating gently in the sway of the breeze. A wolf came out of the thick shrubbery at the right, then eyed the two gods and twitched instinctively, lowering his body in a posture of submission, whimpering a little.

Apollo carelessly waved his hand towards Percy. The wolf walked over and curled next to the demigod. It was sweet to watch.

"How long do you need?"

"As long as I can get away with," Apollo said. "Take the chariot. Say I am willing to surrender and hand over Percy. Just bide me a little time to get everything in order."

Hermes hesitated.

Apollo noticed. "What?"

"I want to meet Percy. News on him, especially first-hand report on him, that would help. Trust me. And besides I have a better plan than your stupid one."

And despite everything Apollo did trust him because he did not argue. Just rolled his eyes and nodded and gestured for him to walk. "It would startle him to wake up to both of us hovering over him."

"So you just watch him sleep and then run off like a creep when he is about to wake up," Hermes read the fine print. Apollo gave him an outraged look, but their bantering was cut short when Percy called out for Apollo.

Hermes looked at Apollo, a little in disbelief. "You make him sleep on the ground and then make him run half the island looking for you? How is that good for your image?"

Apollo blushed. It did feel silly putting it like that. But he was loosing his mind, wondering if he was doing it right and thinking about the gods and good grief, there was Poseidon to fear. There was no one to confide his fears to, no one to make him feel a bit less anxious.

He might not be being the ideal host here, Apollo glumly realized. He felt so stressed out and panicked. Gods, what if Percy hated him for this?

Percy stumbled out from behind them, the wolf nipping at his heels. For a second Apollo just breathlessly took him in. He was wearing a thigh-length chiton and still had on the laurel wreaths crowned along his forehead. With his bright eyes and bare feet and a wolf by his side, he looked…he looked like he could have been a god in their times.

Percy looked to Hermes and smiled brightly, perhaps a bit more enthusiastic at the idea of his company than he usually would be without the magic driving away his worries. Hermes smiled back instinctively in response. It was hard not to, Apollo smugly thought. Percy was just that awesome.

"Hermes, what are you doing here?" Percy asked excitedly. "Did you come to visit too? Because this place is _awesome_." Apollo and Hermes both chuckled at his enthusiasm.

That hope-filled optimistic enthusiasm though was all his. Maybe the magic had emphasized it but Percy was generally an easy-going cool guy. Which was a surprise considering all he had faced. Or maybe it was because of all he had faced. Percy had never thought he'd live to see 18 and now that was an increasingly likely scenario.

He could have been depressed about it, or he could have drawn strength from his impossible life. Live what little he could. And Percy was really not the sort of person to sit around and weep hopelessly about the past. He lived life to the fullest, he cried when he felt like it but he was willing to laugh and smile and live. Let bygones be bygones.

"I came on official business actually," Hermes replied. At Apollo's panicked look, he whispered in Apollo's mind _Trust me. I know what I am doing._ Apollo looked reluctant but let him take the lead.

"Oh," Percy said. Before he could pursue the line of questioning further, Hermes asked, "Laurel wreaths? What did you win?"

Percy's hand flew to the wreaths as if he had forgotten they were there. He rolled his eyes. "Nothing."

Just as Apollo smiled and said, "His very first singing competition."

Hermes had the feeling he knew the answer but he had to ask, "Who against?"

Apollo looked at him, "Me, of course. We'll make him a world class singer just yet." He winked at Percy.

Which was…surprising to say the least. Back in the ancient times, when Marsyas had challenged the god and dared to say he was better than the god, Apollo had flayed the satyr alive in a cave and then nailed his hide on a nearby tree to warn the world of what happened when someone dared to compete with a god. And now, he was _gushing_ over someone.

"He is just being nice," Percy informed Hermes, which almost made him snort. Apollo was being nice?! "You should hear him sing. It's so," he breathed deep. "It's indescribable."

But then again, Hermes admitted to himself, complimenting Percy was different than anyone else. Most would have had a big head by now for so and so reasons. But Percy was still sweet. If someone complimented him, they were still the ones walking away feeling good about themselves.

"I have heard him once or twice," he understated. "He is decent."

 ** _Decent?!_** Apollo's voice echoed in his in annoyance and frustration. Well, good to know that Apollo had still not lost his ego and pride and was just apparently crazy in love. Hermes sent him a mischievous smile.

Percy did not seem to mind or care much about it, gracefully sitting down petting the wolf. "When I woke up," he told them. "he gave me the scare of my life." he looked meaningfully at the wolf. "but we are good friends now." He smiled fondly at the wolf.

 _Hey,_ he nudged Apollo teasingly, _how about we share this one too?_ Apollo gave him an exasperated glance, already done with his mischief but not annoyed because he knew Hermes was just like that all the time.

Besides, the idea of being anything but a mentor to Percy was…okay, it was surprisingly not unappealing but Poseidon would hack him into tiny little pieces. Apollo's stint with mortality had apparently made him reckless and suicidal. He was still sane, thank you very much.

"You said you were here on official business?"

"Yes," Hermes said. "Did you tell anyone where you were going, Percy?"

"Um, no?" Percy said hesitantly.

"No," repeated Hermes neutrally. "Your father is going crazy worrying about you."

Percy paled. When he met Hermes' eyes, his own were startlingly clear and focused. "Mom! Oh gods! I was supposed to meet her and Estelle and Paul." He shook his head. He looked worried, anxious, almost as if the magic had stopped working on him, or stopped effecting him so abruptly now that he had someone or something to focus on. Apollo at the side looked at him in deep outrage.

"We have to go back!" Percy informed them with staunch determination. "Now!" Apollo looked at Hermes in frustration, _look at what you've done._ Hermes ignored it. Things had gotten too far too quickly. They needed damage control here. And fast.

"Yes," Hermes quickly agreed. "We really really do. But well…Apollo may or may not have made a huge mistake." Ignoring Apollo's frantic look of betrayal, he went on. "He lost track of time."

Percy agitatedly tugged at his laurel wreaths. They didn't fall off or come undone, they wouldn't, they were made by a god. "What do you mean, he lost track of the time?"

"Percy," Apollo said slowly, almost mournfully, catching onto Hermes' plan. "How long have we been here?"

"Um, I dunno. I am not good with time."

"Guess." pressed Apollo.

"Just tell me!" Percy burst out. "I really have no clue. Like, none at all."

Hermes almost cut him in the last part of his sentence, "It has been almost a month now, Percy."

Percy sighed in relief. "With the way you two were going on, I almost thought it'd be longer," he explained to their questioning glances. "A month isn't that bad."

"Well, it is if Poseidon thinks his only son was kidnapped and has sent the Council into a frenzy," Hermes listed. "And when Apollo _forgot_ all about his duties as the sun god."

Of course, Percy was actually kidnapped, and he was probably the only one who did not know this. Hermes had to resist the urge to laugh hysterically. This had to be either the best or the worst kidnapping scheme in history. There were trying to make Percy an accomplice in his own kidnapping.

"How could he forget-" Percy stopped his outburst at Hermes to turn to Apollo. "How could you forget raising the sun? You have been doing it for thousands of years. It should be like waking up or eating breakfast. Something like that. I mean, a few thousand years should be really good for developing a habit."

Hermes softened his tone. "Hey, Percy. Don't yell at him. He has been having a few terrible months. You know he is as reliable as the sun. Usually. His mental state is a little fragile right now. Why do you think he ran away from Olympus? He couldn't bear to be around other gods." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "The Trials really fucked him up."

Apollo sent him a sideways glance. _Shut up,_ he sent back to Apollo. _You got us in this mess. Let me get us out of this._

Apollo looked ahead with the expression of a martyr about to be hanged. "Yes," he said through gritted teeth. "I have been having a few problems."

Percy looked sorry he had ever yelled. But if it wasn't Apollo's fault and it wasn't anyone else's fault…"It's all my fault," Percy concluded miserably. "I did not even realize how much time had passed. I mean, what kind of idiot can't even count the days?"

The sincere self-flagellation stirred something in Apollo. He felt almost…sorry, almost guilty then shrugged off the emotions. This was necessary. "Hey, hey. It's alright. It's not your fault. Sometimes things just happen and no is to blame, right?"

Percy's misery did not abate but he did not pursue it. There was no time to waste by being self-pitying when he could be using it to actually do something productive. Even if it was extremely tempting. "The sun is in the sky right now. How is that?"

"It's a divine place," Apollo explained, but did not elaborate. The tiniest sliver of his consciousness was enough to drive the sun. The mortal world was dark because he _wanted_ it to be. But divine worlds had divine protections. His anger could not stop the sun from shining on Olympus anymore than on Delos. Well actually, Delos was a bit more his so he could do it, but the point stands.

"The sun has been missing for like, a month. What are the mortals thinking?" Percy asked. There was sharpness in his eyes. This was the commander of the wars, taking point on the crisis in front of him, asking for reports from ground control. Hermes was surprised by the fact that he might just actually follow this boy into war and trust him to lead them to the other side. He could see how Percy had come to be Poseidon's absolute favorite despite him having sired many competent and worthy children.

"Sand storms," Hermes shrugged.

Percy nodded and then abruptly realizing something, "Are my mom and step-dad and sister okay?"

"Zeus asked and Hera has assured her they would be protected."

Percy looked even more wrecked. "But she hates me! She would never-"

"Percy," Hermes shushed him. "It's alright. And why do you think she hates you? I always rather thought she admired your loyalty."

"Well, there were the cows. Annabeth said they kept following her around and pooping all over her home and school. She even got expelled because of it."

Hermes chuckled. "That shows Hera does not like Annabeth, but what did she do to you?"

"She put me in a sleep and stole 8 months of my life and took my memory and left me with the wolves. Literally."

Hermes and Apollo are both shaking their heads. "She did not do it out of spite," Apollo explained. "She did it in necessity. She is bitchy and trust me when I say she has very creative and cruel punishments for all those who cross her, but she never considered you an enemy. In fact, all of us would acknowledge that it is much much harder for a Greek to fit in with the Romans than it is for a Roman to fit in with the Greeks. And yet, she stood steadfast and told us that you could do it. That you had the strength to succeed."

"Don't take us the wrong way, kid," Hermes elaborated. "But we had our doubts. You are as Greek as they come, free-spirited and wild as you are. But she was right. You succeeded even beyond her wildest expectations. Beyond all our expectations really."

Percy blushed a little. "Let's just get out of here." He abruptly changed the subject.

"No!" Hermes almost shouted. "I'll call your father here to pick you up. That way, Apollo is on his homeland and we can explain things calmly to him."

They both murmured their agreement as Hermes disappeared from view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always somehow bothered me when people claimed that Hera hates Percy. I mean, we know that Percy isn't too fond of her. But Hera or Juno was all praise for Percy in Son of Neptune. And besides, in some ways, both Hera and Juno are pretty badass and there is potential to develop a very complex relationship there.
> 
> Also, I have to ask, are you guys liking it so far? Please rate and review. I think I need it this time around because I really am starting to doubt my skills the further off I go.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, have I gone insane? Two uploads in just three days? Even when I was uploading twice a week, I never uploaded this fast. But that's all thanks to my awesome readers who have gone and commented so well. They made me excited enough to post this and also write a couple of extra chapters that I was not planning on getting out this weekend. I hope this is a good surprise and if it isn't, well the cat is already out of the bag, so.
> 
> IMPORTANT! Alright guys, listen up! This story follows a particular person along with their narrative. Like, Percy being completely oblivious in that chapter. Apollo being a creep. Stuff like that. It wasn't as relevant before, but it will get more and more important as we go in. The narrative is biased to the view of whoever it is from point of view of. For example, Poseidon will think of his son differently than Apollo would and that would still be different from anyone else. There will be no inclination if that perspective is wrong! There will be no indication if the person is on the wrong line, however subtle or obvious it might be. Hell, there might never be such an obvious call-out. It's up to you as a reader to catch what you can! I'd suggest checking up the comments on A03 and reviews on ff, if you want to see what others manage to catch!

Hermes felt almost sorry for Percy. That demigod had tried so hard his entire life and at least in part for his father's approval. And now…

As soon as Hermes had flown back in to Olympus, Zeus had tried to tell him off for taking so long and obviously confronting Apollo. Hermes' awesome skills as a diplomat were obviously all that had saved him; that and the fact that he had managed to convince Apollo to give Percy back.

He had just been debating on how to tear Hera away from the meet and greet party but she had fortunately told them to go without her, waving a hand dismissively and saying that fewer the gods there, the better the situation would be.

Poseidon had hastily agreed and said he'd go. Zeus had rolled his eyes and followed. Neither protested when Hermes came along without a word.

Apollo and Percy were both waiting at the edge of the island, right by the cliffs where the open skies met the raging seas. The symbolism of it wasn't lost on Hermes and he had no doubt Apollo had been deliberate about it. He was after all the god of poetry.

Poseidon looked at his son who was now thankfully and sensibly back in his clothes; a scruff ripped jeans (Hermes was pretty sure they weren't ripped because they were designer and he was also pretty sure it wasn't because they were _that_ old; they had just been through the battlefield) and a simple faded blue t-shirt. His laurel wreaths had been removed. The wolf at his feet was still there however.

Poseidon ignored them all, striding forward deliberately and purposefully. Apollo took a couple of very large and very obvious steps back, looking at Hermes in panicked fear but Poseidon did not even bother to give him a glance, walking up to Percy and easily pulling him in a hug. And as if in proof that his affection was requited, Percy hugged him back just as easily, smiling wide.

Hermes looked away, mood a little sour, a little jealous, but also nostalgic. When had Zeus ever been this caring, this attached to any of his sons? Truth be told, even Poseidon, while usually receptive for his children, was hardly the sort to be pulling them into hugs and consoling them when they were sad.

He was a god and he acted like it. Cursing Odysseus to a hopeless journey on the frigid seas for years just because he had blinded Polyphemus was one of his more drastic acts of revenge on a son's behalf but it was a suitable measure of his mind-set.

But apparently when Zeus had joked that Percy was Poseidon's little darling, it had rung with hints of truth. Poseidon did not just love Percy because he was a grand warrior. He actually worried and cared for Percy, his feelings and emotions and thoughts and fleeting worries.

"Are you alright?" Poseidon asked sincerely, when he pulled away from the hug but did not let go, holding him by his hands to scan him up and down.

"I am fine. I am good." Percy promised earnestly, biting his lip guiltily. "I'm sorry."

Poseidon looked confused. Percy elaborated, "I lost track of time. I hadn't realized it had been almost a month-"

Zeus did not jump at the confession like Hermes had expected he would. It was a nice simple way to take the blame off of Zeus' own son (and a favored one at that) and drop it all at his brother's feet, especially when their relationship was so famously stormy.

Poseidon shook his head and held up a hand to stop him. "Did you come here on purpose?"

At Percy's confused look, he elaborated, "Did Apollo invite you here?"

"Yes."

Poseidon's eyes are starting to look a little stormy and Hermes has to resist the urge to cheer for Apollo because he did not know how he had convinced Percy it was his idea to come here but it was brilliantly done and wince in sympathy for Percy. That boy was going to be in a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how one looked at it, Zeus kept a clear head. "Did he ask you for permission before or after you came here?"

"How does it matter?" Percy asks confused but at Poseidon's look, he easily relents. "After we came here, he asked me to join him for dinner. And then I said yes and we just sort of lost track of time, I guess."

Poseidon's eyes are turning a stormy violent green and by the end of the speech, he turns accusingly to Apollo. "You stole my son." He said with barely controlled anger.

"Wait a second!" Percy said, waving his hands. "Stole me? No-one stole me."

They all ignored him. "And then you had the audacity to hide him from my sight," Poseidon tilted his trident threateningly. "You soft on my son? Is that it, Apollo? You wanted to keep him? Away from me?"

Apollo took a few steps back, hands up in surrender, eyes glowing dangerously. "I can explain, Lord Uncle. I didn't touch him, I swear."

"Dad," Percy tried from behind but all four of the gods were too focused within themselves to pay him much mind.

"Then why did you kidnap him? He is a mortal in a divine land. He could not have possibly said no." Poseidon glowed dangerously. He wasn't at his full height but he was standing at a taller than usual 8 feet that made him seem dangerously unstable. " _To anything_ ," he deliberately insinuated.

"Alright, that's enough," Zeus interfered. At Poseidon's look of anger, he whispered, "Poseidon, your son is barely 10 feet away. Your favorite son who does not know about or fear your infamous temper. Do you really want to change that right this instant?"

Poseidon calmed a little. Well, at least he stopped glowing and shrunk to 7 feet. His eyes though were still stormy. "This isn't over," he told Apollo quietly. "And trust me, I have a _long_ memory. I will not forget."

Nobody doubted that. He had never ever forgotten or forgiven a slight. Hermes still remembered the King that had refused Poseidon his payment in his mortal stint as punishment. Zeus had forbidden Poseidon from taking his revenge but Poseidon had never forgotten the slight. He had joined with the Greeks to annihilate Troy. And succeeded.

Poseidon turned back towards Percy who was watching them all with wide eyes, undoubtedly sensing the edge of a divine battle about to break out. "Let's go home, Percy." Poseidon said calmly, his tone had none of the anger or frustration he was undoubtedly feeling, just calm gentle patience. "Your mother awaits."

He walked over to Percy and took his hand gently. Even though, Percy was almost all grown up, Poseidon was still bigger and his large callous hands took his smaller ones with the utmost care and caution. A god's strength was nothing to sneeze at and even now, Poseidon always felt wary around his mortal son.

What if he accidentally hurt him? Because he could and it would be so easy. Just one moment of carelessness, one action in a fit of emotion…Poseidon rather suspected that most mortal parents felt the same around their babies but for Poseidon, it would forever be true. Even if Percy were a god, he would still have a hard time fighting one of the Big Three; he would always be a child, someone to protect for Poseidon.

And then as if in response to his thoughts, as soon as they landed in New York, Percy jerked beside him, unceremoniously yanking back his hand.

Poseidon glanced back in alarm and saw Percy struggling to breath, head down between his knees.

"Percy," Poseidon forced down his helpless panic. He had never had to face something like this before. "What's wrong? Talk to me." He gently cradled his face.

"I just-" he gasped. "My head is spinning. I-I need to sit down. I don't feel good." Percy without a word of warning or caution tried to sit down, right there on the dirty sidewalk of New York city.

Poseidon scrunched his face in distaste. If Percy hadn't gotten something, he definitely would if he sat down here. Poseidon manifested a chair and helped Percy down on it.

"I think I'd be better on the ground," Percy slurred. "No chance to fall."

"I won't let you fall," he assured Percy. Then immediately had to catch him as Percy almost did fall down by the side, losing his balance.

 _Fuck it,_ Poseidon decided as he let them both fade away from sight. The ocean would make him feel better. His palace was almost finished renovating anyway. As good as any a time to brag about it to Percy.

Zeus and his stupid sons could just go screw themselves.

In a way, the ocean did help and the closer they got to Atlantis, the better Percy seemed. He was still pale, still a little tired but he assured Poseidon he felt better. "I think I'd better lie down for a bit. It'll make me feel better."

Poseidon was a little disappointed. He had wanted to show Percy his palace. "Sure, the palace is just coming up. I wanted us to take the scenic route."

Percy abruptly stopped, a look of horror on his face. "We're going to your palace?"

"Yes, of course." Poseidon said fake-cheerfully. (A part of him was still imagining Apollo's stupid head on his trident) Then misinterpreting Percy's look, he added. "It's mostly all renovated now. You don't have to worry about that."

"I'm not worried about that!" Percy wanted to yell, but all he managed was to whisper petulantly. His head spun harder. "You have a wife and a son. And I am in no shape for a fight."

Poseidon startled. Percy was so very much his, it was almost viscerally painful to realize he had been born out of wedlock, that his wife might not love Percy just as unconditionally as he had started to, that a part of Percy actually felt like an outsider in Poseidon's palace.

"You won't have to fight, Percy," Poseidon assured him softly. "My wife is not Hera. And Triton is usually a benevolent god, he won't pick a fight with you either. I won't let anything happen with you," Poseidon reveled in being able to say the words now. He could never be a hands-on parent for Percy but after Apollo's stint, Zeus would be hard-pressed to be able to cite Ancient Laws.

Percy felt too dizzy to argue. He had started feeling better in the water but now the rush seemed to be wearing off. "Just get me vertical soon." Percy blinked dazedly, feeling like he was about to float away. "I can't stand anymore."

Poseidon grabbed him tight and as if finally understanding the urgency of the situation, they disappeared in a swirl. Fortunately, they got there fast. Unfortunately, Percy had pretty much zero strength after that.

He fell on the soft bed, sprawled out, eyes closed. It felt better there. No chance to fall.

"Percy?" Poseidon asked, almost hesitantly.

"I need to rest." Percy informed him. "I can't stay up anymore." Then closed his eyes. Poseidon hesitated at the foot of the bed, then finally walked to Percy's side. It took Percy a few moments to realize what the light pressure on his forehead had meant.

By the time he opened his eyes, Poseidon was already gone.

Percy brushed at the hair on his forehead lightly, sorry he had missed the sight.

When Percy opened his eyes again, he startled. There was a green figure in his room with lots of sharp edges and teeth and poisonous fangs and sharp eyes. He jumped up, a strangle scream in his throat, his sword already out and poised.

The terrifying creature put up his hands or fins or whatever the hell that was. "I mean no harm." He assured him. His voice was like grated glass over the strongest whiskey.

"Thank the gods," Percy informed him. And fell back down, feeling worse than ever. He had no strength to parse out whether it was the truth or whether the guy's razor sharp teeth were coming for his jugular. He curled up in a ball and groaned in pain. "Everything hurts."

Percy closed his eyes. Tried to go back to sleep.

He stirred. Rolled over and opened his eyes. The guy was near him, shaking him awake. His teeth were even sharper up close, almost as sharp as Riptide maybe. His hands or whatever were on him as he shakes him. "Did you hear what I just said?" He asked gravely.

Percy stared at those big, sharp teeth. Blinked. "No," he said slowly. "Is it important?"

"I am Triton." he informed Percy.

"I know," Percy said. They both stared blankly at each other. If Percy didn't feel so rotten, he would have choked on the surrealism of the situation. He stared at Triton's teeth again. There was something about sharp dangerous things that always made him feel oddly satisfied. But Triton was so far from human, it was uncomfortable.

"What are you staring at?"

Percy blinked again. He couldn't say Triton was creepy. "You're scary." Then resisted the urge to face-palm. _Great, well done, Percy!_ he thought sarcastically. He hadn't meant to say that. And in his weak, petulant tone…he sounded like a baby. He groaned.

Triton blinked at him, taken aback. Took two large steps back from the bed. "Oh, you're afraid of me." It was hard to tell in that deep, hoarse voice but Triton sounded almost abashed.

"I got this." Triton assured him and started to glow. Percy just had enough mind to turn his head.

"Oh-uh," Triton said faintly from behind him. Percy turned back. Triton still had greenish-blue skin hue, still had sharper than normal teeth, still had markings on his skin like elaborate tattoos but colored and still had gems and stuff embedded in various parts but his teeth were now smaller and his green color skin was now bit lighter and his tail was now unmistakably…gone. He did have two legs and ten toes though.

Triton looked even more surprised and confused than Percy himself felt. He took one step forward and tripped over his own feet and fell down on Percy. Hard!

"Ugh, gods" Percy groaned, slumping down. "I just want to sleep." Then ignoring Triton, he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

"Wait, I got it," Triton said. Then dug an elbow right into Percy's stomach. Percy groaned. "Sorry, I'll get the hang of it."

"Just, stop moving," Percy gasped.

Triton didn't listen. He squirmed about, managed to dig his elbows in all the uncomfortable places he could find and twice managed to hit his face. "For gods' sake."

Finally Triton managed to support himself leaning against the wall, staring fascinated at his toes as he curled them a little in delight. Percy watched him from his position half-below the merman-turned-god, feeling sore in some places, mostly from Triton's elbows and fists, but otherwise better than before.

"What are you doing here?" Percy asked.

"Dad asked me to keep an eye out on you, considering it was a divine illness. How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Percy grumbled. "And what do you mean, divine illness?"

"Alright, don't be such a big baby. It doesn't hurt that much. I think." Triton paused, head cocked to the side. It felt so alien, so different that it took Percy a second to realize that he might just be the only human Triton had seen since…well, the last time they saw each other. And that had been no time to sate curiosity, of all things. Triton shook his head. "When Apollo stole you away-"

"Why does everyone keep saying he stole me away?" Percy threw up his hands.

Triton ignored his outburst. "-he took you to divine land. Where nothing hurts and everything is perfect and all that. But you are only just mortal. So when you came back here, your soul was wounded at being torn away from divinity and your body had to start working again. It was a sudden, drastic change. It'll just take awhile for it to adjust."

"But I've been to Olympus before. And other sacred places. It's never affected me like this."

"For short periods of time." Triton pointed out. "And Apollo deliberately emphasized the divinity of the island. Mortality and divinity should never mix freely. There are always consequences."

It was hard to argue with that. "I already feel better." Percy assured him. "Maybe it's my divine blood?"

Triton rolled his eyes. "While your blood does offer certain protection, even that is not enough to save you if you look directly into the sun. You feel better because you are in Atlantis, the heart of Father's power and I am here, shielding you from the worst of it."

"You're helping me out?" Percy asked surprised. "Wow, so you won't make me into little bits of shark bait?"

Triton looked a little disgusted. "No! Where do you come up with such ideas?"

Percy shrugged. "Last time I came here, you had the look. And well, I am a bastard child-Ouch!" Percy rubbed his head. It was more surprising than it was painful. "What was that for?"

"Don't say that!" He looked up. Triton looked a little disturbed, a little upset.

"Say what?" Percy asked, incredulously.

"That you are…you know-"

"A bastard?"

Triton looked even more upset. "Shut up!"

"Hey, I'm sorry. I won't say it again if you find it that offensive." Percy help up his hands but felt a little guilty. He wondered if Triton wasn't actually Amphitrite's with how much it seemed to bother him. But no, this much he knew: Triton was Amphitrite and Poseidon's immortal heir and son.

Maybe he just wasn't used to such language, Percy reasoned. After all, he was a prince. Years of bullying had made Percy a little tougher to these things. It had used to hurt unbearably when he was younger, when strangers had commented that he had been unwanted, a mistake, a bastard, and it had nearly split him apart when his own father had echoed the words. But now, he was a bit more confident in his own skin, a bit more trusting of his father, a bit less caring of what strangers who meant nothing to him said behind his back.

Triton bunched up his tunic in his hand. Percy hurriedly changed the subject. "Nice of you to help me out. You didn't have to."

Triton looked a little upset still, mouth curled down unhappily. He didn't say anything. For a while, they just stayed silent.

"Do you really think that?" Triton asked finally, jerking Percy up from where he was in a silent trance at the peaceful calm. He elaborated at Percy's questioning look. "That you're a bastard?"

Percy looked at him incredulously. "I am a bastard. And no need to feed me some bullshit story to make me feel better about it; I am 17 and I'm old enough to understand that accidents happen and sometimes people make mistakes."

"It's not _bull_ ," Triton said 'bull' like it was some foreign word he had never come across, just echoing Percy's words. "Dad loves you, like he does all of his children and-"

"No need to lie to me to make me feel better. I told you, Triton. I am old enough to-"

"-when you were born, he was so happy-"

"Triton, I know he wasn't. He said he wasn't."

That stunned Triton into silence. "He said that? That you were a bastard?"

"No, of course not." And ruthlessly tamping down on Triton's hopes, he added. "He said I was an unforgivable mistake on his part."

Triton looked devastated. Percy realized he had said something he should never have. "Forget this. It's not like it matters. It was years ago. I'm sure he's forgiven us both for this mistake." He joked.

Triton did not seem to think it was funny. "A child should never think they're unwanted." He said sadly.

That would have made Percy terribly sad a few years ago. Now he was tougher. He just chuckled. "Life is a bitch, Triton. Don't beat yourself up about it. Besides, dad and I have made our peace with each other. And all is well that ends well, right?" Percy was luckier than a lot of other demigods and even normal mortal children and he knew it. He wasn't about to bitch and cry and whine over something so inane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gods here will be both dark and sympathetic. My goal is to make them all seem human. Not pure balls of evil, not a shining ray of sunshine; not dumb and not omniscient. Every action done will have plausible deniability, and every god will have done something altruistic and terrible in their life. No-one here will be perfect. Not even Percy. Hope you like and rate and comment!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually like this chapter. So much so I didn't want to post it yet. But oh well, if this gets me enough good feedback and stuff, I'll be happy. Also, I had this one-shot written up in my folder for ages but never posted it. But then someone coaxed me to do it, so it's out now. Paul-Percy bonding fluff. If you like that sort of thing, do go check it out. It's titled 'Father Figures'.

Zeus closed his eyes in irritation. First Poseidon had disappeared off with his son, which Zeus should have totally seen coming if he was being honest with himself. Then despite the fact that his brother should be happy and content, he had gotten really really irritated and annoyed.

The seas were already frozen but the landmasses were still fair game.

There was a terrifying 8.3 earthquake just off of California's coast that had jolted the icy seas into cracking at places. Some people had been crushed. Others had ran off to fall to their deaths. The ones who had survived had still been left homeless with no belongings and no place to call their own.

Hawaii had also seen a volcanic eruption brought on by a severe earthquake right below it.

Looks like Poseidon's threadbare control had just been shaken for some reason.

Zeus darkly wondered what Poseidon had found on his son. Nothing good, for sure. Apollo was absolutely and undeniably his father's son and never before had Zeus been so aware of it just as much as he hated it. Apollo might have said he hadn't touched the boy.

Zeus knew better. The god of truth was not bound to honesty after all and no way had Apollo been willing to face the consequences of such serious actions without a consolation prize.

"ZEUS!" Poseidon roared as he came into the throne-room, all swirling grace and glorified rage. He was a sight to behold. Speak of the devil, Zeus thought bitterly.

"Brother," he tried to appease. "What ails you?"

Poseidon shot him a dark look. "I am in no mood for games, brother. Give me justice or I shall take it into my own hands."

"And you shall have justice," Zeus assured him. "But what are the crimes that were committed?"

Poseidon gave him a withering look. "Was kidnapping my baby and hiding the sun not enough?"

 _Baby?_ Zeus thought perplexed for a second. Then abruptly realized.

Poseidon was unhealthily fond of his youngest. Never mind how competent Percy was, that he had fought two wars, that he had gone up and beyond the call of duty of any demigod that had ever existed, Percy was now Poseidon's baby boy and Chaos help anyone in his warpath.

"Your son, is he otherwise unharmed?" Zeus doubted it. Apollo was his son through and through. No way was he willing to face the consequences of something this severe without an equivalent gift in return. Hades, Zeus was surprised he was willing to take such a risk in the first place. Neither Zeus nor Poseidon were known for their sweet tempered generosity when they were angry.

"Divine sickness." Poseidon said in a huff.

Zeus looked at Poseidon, a little sorry for the boy. On top of everything else…

Divine illnesses were generally fatal. It wasn't an illness in the traditional sense. After the first bout of nausea and pain, it passed pretty quickly. The problem came after.

It was a mortal, coming back to the mortal world and looking at the world again as if for the first time. The weather was always off, sometimes too humid, sometimes a little hot, a little too cold; never as perfect as the divine lands. They saw sickness again; death after they had seen a place beyond it.

It hurt to walk, it was tiring waking up, the food was just never as perfect.

It built up slowly but surely. Life didn't seem as fun, happiness was never as grand. They withered away to hollow shells of who they once were. Usually, gods abandoned them after that. They were too much work and took too much time when the gods could just have another mortal.

Zeus was pretty sure Poseidon was not here so he could abandon and put down his son like so many others they had had to.

"You left him alone?" Zeus asked weakly.

"Of course not. I took him to Atlantis, the height of my power. I left Triton in charge."

Great, Zeus thought. He left his scorned wife and her loyal son in charge when Percy was already unwell.

"You do realize that this is a temporary solution, right?" Atlantis was wonderful, just as free of sickness and death, just as pure, just as grand. But Percy would have to come out and face the consequences of Apollo's actions. And he would have to realize that the world wasn't as pure again. He might stay there to alleviate the physical symptoms, but the mental pressure and pain could not be averted.

"I'm not going to make him leave," Poseidon defended himself. "If he wishes to stay, he may for as long as he wants to."

"Did you honestly ask him and explain everything you should have?"

Poseidon growled, eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't put off the subject, brother. Call on the Council. It is time for your son's punishment."

Apollo sat down on the throne ignoring everyone else, rapidly typing something on his Hephaestus Pad. Quite a few others gave him exasperated, disbelieving looks. Even Artemis, who had stuck by him, even through his worst, looked a little uncertain. Zeus had no doubt that she'd come around, help her brother out but the fact that she was debating helping a male over her own twin was astonishing enough.

"Today we are here to discuss Apollo's crimes as he went against the explicit orders of the Council and kidnapped our young hero and neglected his duties as a god."

Apollo put down his Pad, eyes flashing dangerously. He didn't look at Zeus but there was no mistaking his defiance. Apollo had never been this deliberately defiant. Ever.

Hermes looked unusually serious too. "We are still missing one member of the Council."

Zeus glanced at the missing throne of his wife, "She'll be here soon enough." As if on cue, Hera flashed in the Throne Room. For a second, Zeus admired his wife's true form in all of it's godly glory before she came back down and walked sharply over to her throne.

It was just when she was about to settle down on her Throne, half-turned away from Zeus to glance over at Apollo that she caught what had been bugging her for a few days now, like a small smooth pebble at the bottom of your shoe or the pea at the bottom of a mattress.

She looked at Apollo and froze in shock for a horrified second. "What have you done, you foolish child?!" She whispered in disbelief.

Triton kept one hand firmly on Percy's as he curled over.

"It hurts." Percy gasped, curling into himself tighter. Then regretted it. It hurt more. The more he moved and talked, the more it hurt.

He fisted his hands and curled his toes as if he held onto them hard enough, he wouldn't break away. He whimpered a little, having no energy to even scream but that took too much effort too.

He wanted to break away from this body, this human shell that held so much agony and pain for him. He wanted to leave it, go somewhere else. _Gods, he wanted to die._

Just as he thought that, he wondered how to go about it. His sword would do. And fuck anyone who thought that it was cowardly, they didn't know pain like he obviously did.

But the thought was unbearably tiring. He would have to _move_ his hands and uncurl himself and shuffle around in his pocket. Then he would have to uncap it. Aim for a suitable place. Plunge in with suitable strength. He couldn't do all that, no way.

 _I can do it,_ Percy weakly told himself. _I survived Tartarus. I can take away this pain with just a little effort. Just move, just a little._

He couldn't do it, just lay there whimpering, tears streaming down his face while he struggled to breath, to cope, to anything.

And then it was abruptly and strangely gone.

Percy opened his mouth to breath in deep, gasping, tears still on his cheek, not having realized that he was breathing slower, shallower because of the pain.

Then he choked on his own sobs, breaking down and crying at the painful ordeal. He just lay there, crying pathetically for a little while.

"Percy?" Triton said softly, his hand still on his back. "Are you okay?"

"No," Percy sobbed, unashamed of this. He felt tired to the pain, drained of life and vitality. The fact that he had somehow survived this seemed impossible enough. "That was the worst pain ever." he gasped.

"I took it away." Triton said, still as soft. "I couldn't bear to watch anymore. But Percy, the longer I put it off, the longer it will accumulate and the worse off the pain would be."

Percy gasped, blinking at the tears on his lashes. "There is more?" he asked weakly. He slumped back on the bed, drained. "I can't take that again."

"Of course you can." Triton cooed gently, running a hand through his hair. "You're strong, Percy. Stronger than you think, stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"No," Percy moaned, weakly shaking his head.

"Yes," Triton insisted. "C'mon, the Savior of Olympus can do anything, right?"

"I can't take it, Triton. I'd rather die than face this again, okay? Please, for my sake. It's easier to die." Percy had never begged for death but life just kept throwing him curve balls.

"You will." Triton said, eyes now hard. He turned Percy's head a little to look seriously into his eyes, so that Percy would know he was being serious here. "The pain isn't that bad," Triton explained, over-riding Percy's protests. "It hurts so much because it's a soul illness."

"What's that?"

"That means it's your soul that feels hurt because of this. And the deeper you dig, the harder it hurts. But if you are strong, and I know you are, then you can ride this off." Triton faltered in the silence for a second, pausing to think. "Who do you love more than anyone else in the world, Percy?"

It's not even a question, Percy doesn't even have to think about it. "Mom."

Triton nodded. "Think of her. Take strength. Believe you can do this and you will."

Percy nodded, took a deep breath, tried to calm his hysteria. For mom…she wouldn't deserve having to hear that he was in such unbearable pain and the only way he can lie to her about it is if he lives. If he died here, someone or the other would tell her the truth in a misguided attempt at honesty. Percy couldn't let that happen. "I can do this." He said, not letting doubt creep into his voice.

Triton gave him an impressed look using his one free hand, the one not on his back to grip Percy's right hand. "When it hurts, grip as tight as you want to and imagine that all the pain you're feeling is transferring here."

"Won't that hurt you?"

Triton rolled his eyes. "I am a god in my own domain. Few things can hurt me and a kid holding my hand is not one of them."

"I have never been this offended by something that is absolutely 100% true."

"Was it the kid part?"

Percy looked thoughtful. "Could be. But Paul calls me kiddo sometimes and that's not insulting."

"It's probably because you are the little brother, kiddo."

"Yeah, that made me want to strangle you too. Are all big brothers this annoying?"

A smile on his lips, Triton ducked his head. "I'll stay here, okay? If it's too much, we can take a short break. Longer breaks we will have to face the consequences of, but short cheat breaks we can manage."

Percy looked at Triton, touched. "Thanks, Triton. You don't have to do that."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I really don't. So you can owe me one."

Percy shrugged, in absolutely no position to deny. "Yeah, okay. Fair's fair. I owe you one."

"Take a deep breath," Triton said cautiously, reluctantly. Before Percy could yell at Triton to stop wasting time, he let go and Percy fell back in that well of pain and darkness.

It was only Triton's hand tight on his own and soft fingers in his hair that kept him sane. That, and his mom. She deserved everything, and a little bit of pain was not going to stop Percy from getting back to her.

Poseidon was at his limit. No, scratch that, he was past his limit. His limit had been the prophecy almost killing his son and then throwing into Tartarus while he was busy squabbling with Neptune like a child. His limit had been his baby missing and finding out that the kidnapper had been one of the worst gods there could have been. His limit had been finding out he had divine illness.

But this…

Poseidon took a deep breath and threw Japan into disarray as he tried to put himself to order.

"You-" he took another deep breath, tried to find a word that could be enough. His hands trembled in fierce anger. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so angry, so frustrated. So _helpless_. "You-"

This time, Apollo cut him off. "It's not my fault Percy caught the apple, Lord Uncle."

"You should never have thrown him one!" Poseidon howled. "He doesn't know or understand our customs and you knew it! You deliberately took him there to soften him and then you-" Poseidon broke off, angry and disgusted at how low Apollo had fallen.

Hera looks a little shell-shocked still. "It's binding though. Apollo proposed and Percy accepted."

Poseidon snapped up his head, furious. "No, it's not binding! It can't be!"

Even Athena looked at Poseidon pityingly. "My lord," she said with the sort of respect she had rarely if ever used for him. "These are age-old traditions that cannot be denied. Percy ate and drank in Apollo's haven, accepted his hospitality and caught the apple. There are two things that once given cannot and should not be taken back: a gift and a hero's word. This engagement is binding." She managed to throw Apollo a look caught between amazement, disgust and admiration. "However manipulative it may have been."

Poseidon looked around for the support he should have had, but nobody met his eyes. "He will at least be punished for his crimes." it wasn't a question.

"Poseidon, brother-" Zeus sighed. "He will of course be punished but it cannot be done now. The world is in disarray and we would be hard-pressed to handle it alone. Until the crisis is resolved, it just cannot be done. Apollo must first put to right what he has done wrong."

Poseidon looked down, a dangerous plan already brewing in his mind. "That would take time," he said suddenly calm. Most of them looked at him warily.

"It would take at least a couple of years or so," Apollo agreed, hands twitching warily for a weapon.

Poseidon leaned against his throne, poise calm and casual, eyes just as unreadable. "You must give me dowry for stealing away my son."

Poseidon hated to barter with Apollo as if his son could be something to be traded but this was necessary and needs must. Apollo easily nodded. "The finest gold-"

"I have more money than I know what to do with."

Apollo squirmed. "A palace?"

"My son should have a palace to live in," Poseidon agreed. "But I have no need for one. Nor do I need some nymph or any of your silly trinkets."

Apollo looked at him in disbelief, a little stunned, a little insulted.

Poseidon continued. "You wish to take away what is most precious to me in this whole world. So I wish the same of you."

Apollo looked deep in thought. Then looked up, an unusually serious look on his face. "If you want Delos or Delphi, you can have it. Hades, you can have both."

There were gasps and muttering. Aphrodite fanned her face, looking delightfully scandalized. Years ago, Poseidon would have done almost anything for something that valuable and there was nothing in the world Apollo would have even considered giving even a portion of it for. And now the sun did not rise like clockwork anymore and the world was upside down.

Poseidon looked bored. "Still not worth my son." Someone choked on his own breath, despite being an all-powerful god. This was just getting way too good to actually be real.

Apollo looked frustrated. "What is it you want, my Lord?" He kept his words respectful through gritted teeth.

"Your selfish pride and your arrogance." Poseidon looked sternly at Apollo. "You have had to face Trials twice in your life-time, but your father was too soft. You never learned a thing. Complete the Trials that I order you to do, prove to me you are capable of my son and you may have his hand in marriage with absolutely no protest from my side."

Apollo hesitated for a split second. The Trials had _not_ been easy. They had ripped his soul apart and ruined his psyche. And Poseidon would be unquestionably undoubtedly cruelly worse.

"You may back out if you wish to," Poseidon murmured, watching him with shrewd eyes.

And for a second, in the split second, Poseidon tilted his head to look at him better, it took Apollo back…Percy, his tongue out in earnest concentration, head tilted in fascination as he gently picked up a raven in his hands, eyes wide with fascination as the bird trustingly curled into his hands. Percy had then looked at Apollo and smiled as if he had just been given something wonderful and amazing.

He thinks of that warm smile and holds it close to his heart and thinks, _I can do anything, even walk through Tartarus for that stupidly trusting smile._ "Bring it on, Uncle." Apollo looked up with fire in his eyes. "I won't lose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skye_02 was the first to catch onto the apples reference. Baku followed barely an hour later. So thanks for making me flail in panic and try to divert your attention. But I’m more impressed than annoyed. That was so casual I had been hoping it passed you all by. You two have no idea (especially Skye_02 who is a little too quick on the uptake and kept re-reading and noticing details I wanted no-one to know yet) how badly I wanted to jump and spill everything. I can’t keep secrets. I’m a terrible secret-keeper. The only thing that saved me so far was that I was behind a computer screen and you could not read my terrible poker face. But I’d keep on encouraging you to ask questions and read more into it. Some things will be explained, some might not in the upcoming chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. Looks like I couldn't stay away for the whole week. The appreciation and love for the last chapter just blew me away. It was my favorite chapter, no doubt but I wasn't sure you'd like it as much. So here is another one. Not as good as the last one, but I needed to be back here. I've been stressed, but then again, who hasn't been in these trying times? Your love really helps me look forward to something. Please don't hold back on it.
> 
> That being said, onto the story.

Triton made patterns on Percy's back in boredom. This was getting real old, real fast. Percy looked back up on the bed, from where he was half-way down the side of the bed, busy heaving and throwing up. "I feel better now," he slurred.

"That's just gross." Triton informed him. And got a kick in his stomach for his efforts.

"How do you manage to annoy me so much in just three goddamn words?"

Triton shrugged. "How do you manage to get into so much trouble without even doing anything? We all have our talents."

Percy's scathing reply was cut-short by the door opening. Percy looked up, hopeful that it was dad. Even his strong, calm presence made him feel better, like he would tear down the entire world just to keep Percy safe. He wouldn't, of course he wouldn't, but the soft warm feeling of being loved and wanted never faltered.

Unfortunately, because his luck was so bad, it wasn't Poseidon. It was the Queen of the Seas, Lady Amphitrite herself. Percy resisted the urge to groan and face-palm. This was something he was really not looking forward to.

He at least started to sit up, but was abruptly pushed down with a startled 'Woah!'.

"Don't move too much," Triton said, examining his nails, rocking the whole 'I don't give a fuck' attitude. "If you get sick again, I am not cleaning it up."

Triton really made it too easy sometimes. There was a comeback on the tip of Percy's tongue, something about Triton and having to clean up _that_ mess, but Amphitrite was in the doorway looking at them with that look on her face and Percy knew mothers were sacred enough to keep his mouth shut.

He slunk down and hoped Amphitrite would ignore him and take Triton away to do whatever it was that she wanted of him.

No such luck. She shut the door behind her and walked in, just as poised and graceful, just as distant and untouchable. "Triton," she said. "Are things alright here?"

Triton did not seem even half as phased as Percy at his mother's arrival but then again, why would he? "Yes, mother. Things seem much better. I had expected it to last longer, but Percy seems pretty strong."

Percy wasn't sure about that, he still felt like his muscles were too tense due to the pain, his head still hurt at the temples, his limbs still ached. The brief reprieve was as much a surprise to him, but he knew it was just that: a respite. The worst was over but just because the worst was over did not mean it was all over. That, he instinctively knew, would take a bit more time.

Amphitrite nodded, turning to smile cautiously at a startled demigod. "I'm glad to hear that. Join us for lunch if you think you can manage it."

Percy abruptly realized after a second that she was still looking at him expectantly and actually expected a response. "Yes." he blurted out and resisted the urge to wince. "I mean, I would be honored to."

Amphitrite nodded and swam out without a further word.

Percy held a hand to his chest, feeling his racing heart. "She was less mean than I expected her to be."

Triton frowned at him. "Mom doesn't judge a demigod by his parentage."

Percy said nothing. Even if she did not take her anger out on those demigods, Percy doubted she was happy seeing proof of her infidelity in her own home. It was admirable enough that she was that patient, willing to forgive her husband and not letting her anger out on the child, like so many others did, both mortal and divine.

"We should get going. It'd be rude to make her wait." Percy finally said.

Triton immediately changed to his merman form, flipping off the bed in one strong catapult, swimming off with a strong stroke. "Is this still scary?"

Percy rolled his eyes. Having gotten comfortable with Triton, this form no longer seemed as alien. It was just Triton.

Triton helped Percy up and they walked off in the direction of the dining room.

Triton having lived here his entire life was much faster, his two fish tails easily capable of getting him farther and faster than Percy could without serious effort on his part. But he slowed down enough to walk by Percy, who was on two legs and too in awe to speed up.

Percy looked around at the torches holding green Greek fire and realized it wasn't glass, but something much more valuable that Percy couldn't place. The fist-sized diamonds by it's side were hard to ignore though and Percy easily recognized them. They scintillated and sparked almost unnaturally.

The floor wasn't pure white; rather a distractingly pretty shade of white with abstract natural designs of mint green and electric blue. The handles were, Percy realized belatedly, made of actual gold and the walls had hand-carved depictions of battles won and lost in the millennia gone by.

"Hurry up," Triton groaned.

"It's just so grand," Percy said, still in awe. But Triton was right, he didn't want to keep Amphitrite waiting.

Triton swam off the corner quickly, a step quicker than Percy as if to say _hurry up!._

Percy had just sped up a little when the man who was walking right out of his blind corner smacked into him.

Percy would have definitely fallen if he had been on land. As it is, he floated right off the floor for a weightless second as the man's tray fell right off, making a mess of food and drinks and gravy.

"I'm so sorry," Percy managed to gasp out as he was finally on firm land. He fell down to his knees to help the poor guy pick up what he could.

"It's no problem." The guy muttered gruffly, but Percy did not miss the hint of almost disgust in his tone. Percy making his trays fall would prompt annoyance, anger but never disgust.

Percy slowed down a little, a little startled. The ocean was always overwhelmingly friendly to him, always unconditionally so. Everyone in Poseidon's employ treated him with utmost courtesy. In fact, the only time he remembered otherwise was by… those mermen. Who had not deigned to meet him. Great.

What had they told Jason? They didn't want to get into politics. How had he gotten caught up in underwater politics without doing literally nothing? Percy shrugged off his hurt. His entire life was a mess of trouble and complications. He didn't and shouldn't care about strangers who meant literally nothing to him.

Percy mumbled another sorry, this one a lot more insincere, and started walking away, just as Triton turned the corner, exasperated at what was taking so long, just as the merman mumbled something to a friend who had just come in to help him pick up.

It was such a sudden sense of input that Percy knew it was only thanks to his demigod reflexes and ADHD that he managed to turn around as Triton literally _whooshed_ through the water to grab the unfortunate merman by the throat.

Triton easily held the merman up by one hand on his throat, eyes a stormy green, mouth pulled back to show a set of sharp pointy teeth, bared dangerously, violently. Percy didn't need to know merman behavior to understand that this had just spectacularly gone to shit.

Percy belatedly reacted, for a moment just staring blankly at the sight. Then he rushes over and did something you should never do: he poked an annoyed Triton.

"What?" Triton snaps at him.

"Let go of the poor guy. Er, man. Merman. Whatever. It's not his fault I knocked over his trays."

"He wasn't looking where he going anymore than you were and you still had an excuse." Triton bared his teeth. "Besides, what he said was definitely, unequivocally his fault."

"What did he say?" Percy asked curiously. He then shook his head. "I'm sure it wasn't worth his life."

Triton snarled, actually snarled like a wild animal. Percy jumped. "He should have thought of that before he said what he said." Still not elaborating on what the mer-guy had apparently said that was so bad.

"M-m-my Lord." His friend was shaking so bad that Percy was genuinely impressed he had managed to get the words out. "Please forgive him this insult," he said, still shaking but no longer stuttering. "He had believed you would approve, my Lord. He's not…Please, my Lord. We only respect. Please."

"He thought I would approve?" Triton eyed the green-blue merman who was choking a little, unable to talk with a closed-up throat.

"Triton," Percy let a hint of steel enter his voice. "Drop him! We can discuss a suitable punishment like reasonable adults. Well, you can. But c'mon, you can't do that if you actually just kill the guy here."

The friend choked. But thankfully Triton lowered him to the ground as the merman pitifully wheezed. "You're defending him when you don't even know what he said about you behind your back." Triton spat.

"I doubt it could be that bad." Percy said coolly. "I'm sure I've heard it all before." Children imitated adults' behavior and before Paul and his rich family's protection, nobody thought much of the delinquent with a runaway father and a blind-with-love foolishly-naïve mother.

Triton's eyes flashed dangerously, but he is saved from answering by an annoyed Amphitrite, who swims the stupid corner (Percy is really starting to hate the corner) and is just asking what is taking so long, Percy can just see it, just on the tip of her tongue when she catches sight of the four of them standing in the hallway.

"What is going on here?" Amphitrite asks in that no-nonsense tone that all mothers just instinctively seem to possess. Sally had never needed to yell at Percy, the tone had always been enough to bring him to heel.

This time is no different. Percy looked at her, helplessly lost, feeling all of 5 years and 3 feet tall, caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Again. "Um," he looked around, immediately on the defensive, but it's a very different kind of defensive than when he is fighting monsters. "We were just messing about."

Triton gave him an odd look at the typical schoolboy response.

"We were not just messing about," Triton mocked, a little older and way more mature. "I was just wondering about the punishment that this traitor deserves for bad-mouthing a royal."

Percy looks to Triton, perplexed. Had he misunderstood? Did he actually bad-mouth one of theirs? Percy hastily back-tracked. It was certainly possible, he realized and resisted the urge to groan at his stupidity.

If the guy had insulted one of his, Triton's reaction made more sense. If someone bad-mouthed Sally, Percy always lost it. It hadn't happened since middle school and even then, it had been isolated incidents at some new school. Most kids learned quick not to mess with his mother.

But this also meant that Percy had nothing to do with this and no right to intervene when he'd have done the same. Hell, he'd have already done worse, especially if he had known that he was a prince and there were no repercussions.

"This-this _scoundrel_ , he said-" Triton glanced at Percy awkwardly.

"I'm old enough to curse," Percy rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

"He called you a bastard," Triton said hurriedly, almost awkwardly, then snapped his mouth shut looking contrite. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

His head spun. This was actually about him? He was so confused with his whiplash thoughts. Was it about him or was it not?

Percy looked at him in disbelief. "That's it? You're losing your cool over something this trivial." Percy wondered again what his problem with the word was. He had personally heard it so many times he was desensitized to it.

"That's nothing, I don't care what random strangers think about me, and I care even less when they call me a bastard. If they're not smart enough to see past my parentage, they're not smart enough for me to listen to."

Amphitrite looked at him in surprise but before Percy can clarify that he hadn't meant her, _he can understand her anger_ , she smiles at him. A real smile, soft and warm. "You're smarter than you look."

Percy squints at her. "I have heard that a lot. Do I really look that dumb?"

And immediately regrets it as Triton smirked and opened his mouth because _really,_ Percy made it too easy sometimes. "Not one word, Triton." Percy said warningly.

Triton raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Yes, fine." Percy snapped. "Another one. But only like half."

Triton didn't let that deter him. "The last one was worth more than one. It's 2-0 now."

Percy glared daggers at the moron. "Fine. But let go of the poor guy. He only said what's on his mind and I really don't want something like this on my conscience."

"The least I can do is lessen the punishment. I can't just forget it." Triton told him. Before Percy can argue more, he calls out, louder. "Guards! Put these two in the dungeons."

Like magic, four guards appeared like magic, all just as intimidating adorned in heavy armor and with dangerous swords at their sides, teeth bared in a startlingly threatening display.

They stood at attention by Triton. Triton stared at them. "What are you standing around for?"

They looked uncomfortable. One of them made an aborted gesture, but then thought better of it. "Um, sir. We mean no disrespect. But…which two?"

Triton had steam coming out of his ears. "Who," he said with gritted teeth. "do you think?"

They all looked at the two servants, their queen, their prince and the bastard child of their king. Was this a trick question? Triton closed his eyes softly in exasperation and annoyance at the fools who liked like they had just been told to solve the answer to the universe.

Percy helped them out. "Those two." He said. "I'm going back to bed. This was too much excitement for me. And we've only just walked down one hallway yet."

The four guards looked to Triton for confirmation but hastily moved when the god growled.

Amphitrite who had been a silent observer so far held up her hand. "I feel like I'm missing something here. Is there a reason for your reprehensible behavior?" She raised an elegant eyebrow.

The guards mumbled apologies and made to move but Amphitrite held up her hand. "I don't wish for your silly apologies. I want the reason."

They looked reluctant to say anything but finally one of the guards bravely said, "My queen. Please. We were told by the generals that you disapproved of the King's infidelity and the child of the union."

"The generals?" Triton said in disbelief. "Wherever did they get the idea and how dare they imply something that- _that_ -" He growled in anger and frustration.

"They said you had disapproved the last time he came down here." Triton and Amphitrite looked a little blank, sharing a horrified look.

"I was stressed, not in my right mind." Amphitrite whispered, her face folding to something terribly sad and contrite. "I was not in my right mind." She turned to Percy and folded her hands in front of her, as if in prayer. "Please, forgive me. I-"

"I forgive you," Percy hastily burst out, before she could embarrass them both any more. "But really," he said, uncomfortable. "It's really not that big of a deal. You were just a little cold, nothing major."

Triton, with an odd look on his face said, "Humans don't really care much for their children, do they?"

"Mom did the best she could." Percy defended hotly. They could insult him all they wanted. Sally Jackson was off-limits.

"I think he meant society as a whole." Amphitrite calmed him. "It is taboo to bear ill-will for a child and no matter the circumstances of their birth, children are precious and all of them are provided with the same education from the same tutors so they may have the chance to reach similar potentials."

"That's a cool system." Percy admitted, impressed. "What about those with bad homes and families?"

"We provide aid to any too sick to work or otherwise having trouble." Triton assured him easily. "Especially those with children."

"No, I mean. Bad homes. Like, I don't know. Drunk parents. Parents who don't care for the child. Don't love them for some reason or other. Abuse them."

"Abuse children?" all five of them jerk away in horror as if he'd just insulted their mother.

"Woah," Percy held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry I asked."

"No, no," Amphitrite shook her head. "Nobody would ever do anything like that here. Is it common up on the surface?"

"It happens." Percy admitted simply, anxious to get away from this particular can of worms.

Triton narrowed his eyes at the short answer and when Percy looked up, they shared an understanding.

_You will tell me everything._

_Just help me change this topic. We can talk about this later._

Triton gave him a hard look, but nevertheless turned around and ordered for the two to be thrown into dungeons (the guards hurriedly compiled and the two servants were meek, giving him a sorry pitying look that Percy tried to ignore) and grabbed Percy, pulling him along, enthusiastically muttering about food.

 _Now I owe him one more. 3-0_ , Percy thought glumly walking fast to keep up with Triton as Amphitrite caught up with them, giving them a startled look of dawning realization, as if she had just realized something.

(Percy was in no hurry to find out what it was.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triton has ended up being a bigger part of the story than I had been expecting. But I don't want to trivialize the marriage situation. It's deplorable and manipulative and I'm NOT going to skim it over or pretend that it is something that can be brushed under the rug. Percy will struggle, in a hopefully realistic way and when he needs help, I need someone to hold his hand and tell him it's okay because I don't want my stories to be emotionally damaging. And especially not in a time like this. Times are hard, both here and out in the real world, and this story, while highlighting struggles, will never lose basis in hope, faith and love.
> 
> Please, please rate and review. It's all I have to look forward to these days.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, posted twice this week, if you hadn't noticed. I'll try to get back to posting twice a week schedule like before. I might miss a week or two, but otherwise that schedule seems to fit me better. I'm a fast writer and besides, this is a fast-paced story in places. There is so much going on at once that there are times I have to write down hints for myself to remember to include this and this in upcoming chapters. That being said, I hope you enjoy.

Percy lay down on his bed, groaning into it. His little outing seemed to have sapped all of his energy. The food was well, interesting. He couldn't pronounce it and he was pretty sure none of it was available 'up on the surface' as they put it.

Amphitrite said that the mostly 'traditional' feast had been mostly for his benefit. Triton kept making enthusiastic suggestions and then looked at him enthusiastically at his favorite ones. If Percy liked it, he'd say, _Well, of course, my taste is excellent. Why wouldn't you like it?_ and when he didn't, he'd say, _Well, obviously, your taste buds are dead._

Percy was fascinated at the idea that he'd found someone who he didn't really hate but sort of wanted to duct-tape and stuff in a locker room anyway. But really, Triton was too much.

Percy was still thankful for Triton keeping close to him.

By the end, he was exhausted from everything even though he hadn't realized it and when Triton walked him to his room (because Percy kept getting lost, and even though Triton insisted that it wasn't hard to find, _it's so obvious, Percy, just look_ , they all looked the same to Percy), he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He startled awake by someone sitting by him but relaxed when they smoothed down his hair. "Mom?" Percy opened his eyes and for a split second, the whole world was wrong until his brain remembered _Apollo, Delos, Atlantis, got it!_

With his face still in the sheets, he turned his head a little more with narrowed eyes to see who was messing with his sleep. "Dad?" he murmured groggily, his brain and body still asleep and in no mood to get up.

Poseidon smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. He did that smile Percy always did when he didn't want anyone to see he wasn't smiling inside. "Go back to sleep, Percy. I would like to stay here a bit longer, if you wouldn't mind?"

Percy was too tired to even tell the god how creepy that was, so he just slumped his face back into the pillows and muttered something incoherent there and fell back asleep.

Percy woke up to Triton shaking him awake, yelling, "What, are you, Endymion, trying to sleep your life away?" Percy woke up startled and then glared at stupid Triton standing by his bed.

"What do you want?" he asked in exasperation.

"We don't have much time, because dad is here-"

"Oh yeah, dad is here," Percy remembered in delight. When had he and his dad ever really gotten to be close? He knew that dad liked him well enough, that he had even once considered him his favorite son, but that was just saying nice things that you only half mean.

After he had gotten his prophecy, he had understood: he was going to die and dad had been kind enough to take his feelings into consideration before he had gone to die for them. He had even understood, sometimes lies were kinder than the truth, and honesty was the best policy only when it didn't hurt.

"Yes, so I need you to spill before dad comes in here." Triton insisted.

"Spill what?" Percy asked.

Triton gave him a look, lightly slapping his arm. "Who hit you?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Look, I get it. You have different sorts of laws and traditions or whatever here but it's different on the surface."

Triton held up one finger, almost in triumph. "No, I know that's not true because I asked some nymphs for some study material from above. Humans should not hit children either. Also, I am a god and I'm not stupid." And lightly touched his biceps. "You look good today," he declared magnanimously.

Percy squinted at his hand on his upper arm. "What are you doing?"

"The book also said that positive physical contact and compliments are needed for the well-being of a healthy human."

Percy rolled his eyes and shrugged off his touch, ignoring how warm he felt at the idea of Triton actually sitting down and reading about humans to better look after him.

"You don't have to do that, Triton. It's a sweet gesture but I can look after myself." Sally and Paul would both say that it was a typical teenager reaction and absolutely refused to listen when he protested that it wasn't like that, _you're just not getting it, mom._

(he always tried to bite back on his anger then, genuine actual anger, because they didn't get it but sometimes he wanted to shove their faces in and tell them the truth anyway)

Triton's protests were cut short by the door opening again.

"Dad!" Percy instinctively smiled. Poseidon smiled back but he looked worn, tired. Not old, but almost weary somehow. Amphitrite came in after him, frowning angrily.

"What's wrong?" Percy and Triton asked in unison and didn't even look to each other in surprise, that's how serious it was.

Amphitrite managed a faint smile and Poseidon looked almost surprised, staring from his one son to the other with a slowly creeping genuine smile. Percy had no idea what had him so satisfied despite whatever was making him sad.

"Alright, keep sitting down, both of you. Make yourselves comfortable. We have something to tell you that I doubt you'd like."

Apollo didn't see it coming. Really, really did not see it coming. Zeus saw it over his shoulder and his eyes rose in surprise and Apollo turned to look…

He staggered back from the force of the punch and it was only a set of familiar green eyes that kept him from punching back.

"You deserve that," Percy informed him. Then turned to his small audience looking at the scene with rapture. "He deserved that."

Zeus was still watching with one raised brow, "Yes," he said slowly. "I suppose he did." He looked almost impressed and not as disapproving as Percy had expected.

Apollo looked back at Percy, already mostly healed, save for a small dark-ish bruise on his cheek that made him look more the victim than the instigator. Triton crossed his arms at the back, annoyed at Apollo's subtle manipulations. His brother was too soft but like Hades would he let Apollo make Percy forgive the god.

Athena was gaping at the scene but she was more focused on the green god than almost anything else. "Triton?" she keened, pained and suddenly feeling as lost as a child.

Triton met her eyes, his own impossibly cold. His mouth twisted to a sneer but he said nothing, looking back to his brother and softly touching his arm. "We should go somewhere else. We're making a scene here."

Percy looked around at the crowd and nodded and they both disappeared with Zeus, Apollo and Poseidon, leaving a pouting Aphrodite (who was disappointed to be missing the drama) and a heartbroken Athena.

There were only five people in the room. Zeus was sitting on a human-sized chair which was as extravagant as a throne. Poseidon sat by him, looking just as calm, eyes stormy, trident twirling calmly in his hand.

Triton was standing, arms crossed in the middle of the room, mouth twisted in an unhappy frown. Apollo was standing by the door and Percy had perched on the window sill, looking down from thousands of feet above.

Apollo finally tried, "Percy-"

"If I have to hear your stupid voice, I will punch you again and this time Triton will help me." Percy said evenly.

"Sure," Triton shrugged. "I won't even ask for a favor back."

Percy looked away from the window to give him an exasperated glance but caught sight of Apollo. Mouth twisting distastefully, he turned away and back down to the windows.

That was that. They all lounged around in silence for a good ten minutes.

Percy finally broke the silence, muttering something under his breath.

"I'm sorry?" Apollo offered politely. There was a good chance Percy was cursing him out, but he needed to see the fire in his eyes, be sure he wasn't too broken, too scared, too cowed.

Percy didn't say anything for a few seconds, then muttered, "We are so high up I can't even see the cars. They're almost like little ants down there." He paused for a second. Then almost hysterically, "I can't get married. I'm only 17. I haven't even finished high school yet." Then, "I'm only 17. And I really can't marry a guy with an age difference of like, a thousand years. Literally," he muttered, just as crazed.

"Longer," Triton said helpfully.

Percy ignored him. "I mean, just because a guy doesn't look like a fat balding creep in a trailer doesn't mean that deep down inside, he isn't."

Triton snickered but put a hand on his shoulder in solidarity. Percy didn't turn around, but curled his hand against Triton's in a rare show of support for both of them.

Triton said, "Except for the trailer part, that was surprisingly spot-on."

Percy groaned. "Shut up, Triton. Your helpful advice isn't as helpful as you think it is."

"Yeah, Triton. Please, for the love of us, shut up," Apollo pleaded.

"Hey," Percy sharply turned around, wagging his finger like one might at a disobedient dog. "Triton is a moron, but no-one except for me, is allowed to tell him that."

"Aw, you care," Triton said sarcastically. Poseidon resisted the urge to groan. Brothers, they would just bring out the worst in each other and make chaos, but it was worth it for when they would bring out the best in each other.

"Look," Triton said seriously. "It's not that bad. Girls used to have to get married at like, 11 or 12 back then. Something like that. I think. I didn't go the surface too often."

"How is that helping me?" Percy asked, a tone of hysteria in his otherwise calm tone.

"We can wait," Zeus said somberly, in deference to the grim attitude. "It's just an engagement for now. It doesn't have to immediately lead to a wedding."

Percy's right hand knuckles were white against the window frame. "I can't-I need to get out. I can't face this right now." Percy rolled off and around in one fluid move. "I need time to think about this."

"Then why did you come here?"

Percy smiled wanly, but Apollo was quietly thrilled by the fiery mischief sparkling in his eyes. "I had to come punch Apollo."

Zeus laughed in surprise and even Apollo managed a chuckle, trying to ignore how his heart was beating _Thunk, Thunk, Thunk,_ in rhythm with Percy's heart.

"Besides," he continued, "You said it was just an engagement for now, so I need time for myself. I don't have to hang out with him just because we are engaged, right?" Then a bit more crazed. "Right?"

Zeus chuckled humorlessly. "I'm afraid that you two do have to go on dates. There is a courting phase. But you don't need to worry about that. I'm sure Apollo would plan for your dates and beg for your forgiveness all the while."

"I will," Apollo promised earnestly.

Percy looked sourly to the god, but didn't reward his enthusiasm. "Can't wait for it," he said blandly. Then added under his breath. "Can't wait to get it over with."

Of course, the gods heard it with their superior hearing. Apollo's face fell and Triton and Poseidon smirked proudly. Zeus just sighed. This was going to be one long courtship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting this chapter out was like pulling teeth. It was not easy to tell Percy that his life was now ruined. I mean, how do you even do that? This story will also follow Percy's struggles to cope with something so impossible and Triton is going to play a big part as the protective, totally awesome big brother.
> 
> Curious about Triton and Athena's strange relationship? Go check out Nepenthe on my profile. I will not be explaining that complicated disaster again when I have a perfectly well-written fic on it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. Quick update but these are small chapters and need to be read quickly to give a good feel of those emotions. And it really is amazing that now 2k words are 'short' chapters for me now.
> 
> IMPORTANT: A reader reviewed and asked why Percy wasn't more broken-up by this betrayal. A very valid point raised, and to this, I will just point to an AN I wrote a few chapters ago in which I explained that every perspective is biased to the point of view of that person. Last chapter was NOT from Percy's POV. Or even Triton's or Poseidon's. All of whom would have been more sympathetic and horrified to this news.
> 
> By contrast, Apollo is hardly a good judge of understanding Percy's moods and besides, his self-centered nature hinders an empathetic nature. And yet, we see Triton silently comforting Percy, obviously pointing to distress on both of their parts. Of course, Percy was hardly going to cry in front of Apollo either, who is of course no longer a friend but an enemy of the worst kind.
> 
> Secondly, no, he can't break the engagement. An engagement is a promise to be married. And a word once given cannot be broken. For example, Apollo granted Cassandra the gift of prophecy if she were to lay with him but could not take it back once she refused. Instead, he took away her powers of persuasion. I know that in the books, many promises are made and broken. But traditionally, a promise once made cannot be broken. There is in fact, a curse that befalls the person that breaks an oath. The personification of said curse is called Herkos, if I'm not mistaken.
> 
> I know the first one was too subtle to catch, but there are so many little things like that that I forget to explain sometimes. Don't hesitate to question if you feel something weird going on. That being said, this chapter is a bit more emotional. Percy is in a fragile state of mind here, which I'm sure most of us already knew he would be. Hope you'll like it.

Percy sat on the bed in his room, knees drawn to his chest and chin resting on them. He usually didn't sit like this, so cowed and shy, but he needed to be a smaller target.

The door banged loudly, disturbing his quiet. "OPEN UP, PERCY!" Triton called out from the other side.

Percy glared at the door. Didn't Triton understand the meaning of him needing some time alone? Some peace and quiet? Was nothing sacred here?

"If you don't open up, I'm gonna come in."

How was that two different things? It was just one thing: Triton was coming in, with or without permission.

He threw his pillow against the door in frustration, "Go away, Triton. I don't wanna see your ugly mug in here," he said venomously.

There was a beat of silence. Then the door burst open as did his day-long anger.

"What the hell, Triton? Didn't you understand it when I told you to stay the fuck away?"

Triton's eyes widened at the anger in his tone, then narrowed. "Yeah? Well, maybe I don't take orders from you."

"Yeah, because that's how you work, isn't it? You take orders and you give orders and fuck anyone who doesn't fit into that-"

"You know nothing! You think you know me so well after just a few days of being here-"

"Well, at least I know better than to barge in someone's else room and disturb-"

"It's only because I care about you and I've never really been a big brother before." Triton panted.

The kindness cut him deep, deeper than cruelty could have.

Percy crossed his arms, more casual than defensive (he hoped) and tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. _I will not cry,_ he swore to himself. He could cry when he was in his room, alone, on the same bed that had never turned him away and with Bluey, his blue bear that had held his hand throughout his life.

Would Apollo let him keep it? Was Percy supposed to listen to his fiancé now over whatever he felt and thought was right? He had certainly been traded like one of those girls in the dinosaur era who fainted at every single opportunity and cried like damsels in distress.

(Percy swore silently to himself to never poke fun at them ever again.)

Was he supposed to live out his entire life with a creep who had just been clever enough when he had been so so stupid? Were they supposed to live in the same apartment slash temple slash palace slash wherever it is that gods live? Were they supposed to have adjacent drawers?

Were they supposed to kiss? Hold hands? Go on dates?

Were they supposed to have sex? _Share a bed_?

Percy tried to imagine having to sleep in the same bed as Apollo, smelling him whenever he came home, having to kiss him and touch him casually throughout the day, share a meal at a table, legs touching-

And that was it for him. He gagged, bile in his throat.

"Oh, I don't feel so good," he gasped.

"Is it the divine sickness again?" Triton gasped.

"No, I imagined having to share a bed with Apollo." Percy gagged. "Oh man."

"Yeah, that would do it too," Triton conceded.

"No, Triton. I really do feel sick." Percy moaned, an arm around his stomach which was now starting to hurt.

Triton jumped up, pushing him back on the bed. "I think it's the divine sickness again. Do you feel sad?"

"Do I feel sad?" Percy asked, in rising hysteria. "I am supposed to be-"

"-Married to a guy. I know. We all know. It's all I've been listening to all day long."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are my problems distracting you from yours?"

"No, actually. They are just reminding me time and again of mine." Triton smoothed down his hair, warming up Percy from the inside out. "I have this brat of a brother who is almost about to be married to a fat balding guy in a trailer."

Percy chuckled, more reflexive than in humor. "You forgot about the part where this brat is actually very charming."

"Pfft, right," Triton scoffed. "More like a damsel in distress style princess."

"Excuse you," Percy fake-haughtily put his hand out. "I'd look terrific in a gown."

"Maybe we should tell Apollo that."

"Don't you dare."

They both chuckled humorlessly. Percy curled up a little on his side as another pain pang hit him. "This time isn't so bad."

"The physical pain will get better soon enough," Triton admitted. "The problem is usually what comes on after. Nothing feels as good, nowhere is comforting enough. You'll feel constantly unhappy, depressed even. Food will taste bland. Usually, people get suicidal."

Triton earnestly looked at Percy. "But I'm not letting you go that far down, okay? I won't let anything bad happen to you." He curled his hand around Percy's wrist. "Don't be scared, Percy. It will all get better. Just breath and trust that this part of the plan will pass too."

A few tears fell down Percy's cheek. There was no lump in his throat, nothing to force down. He needed to cry too much to be able to hold it back any longer. "How can it ever be okay?"

Triton held his hand tightly, trying to ground him to the here and now. "Even if we find no way out of this marriage-" He looked at Percy in the eyes, conveying his sincerity "-And trust me, we will try our best. But even if, worst case scenario, you are forced to get married, I doubt it would last more than a century or two. Apollo is too flighty-"

"Century," Percy realized, heart cold. "I'll have to be immortal. I can't just be immortal. I don't want to be be immortal. What about my mom and Estelle and Annabeth and all my friends and family?"

"You'll have a new family. We'll take care of you."

"I don't want a new family. I like my old one."

Triton looked away, swallowing down his hurt. _This is going to get so much worse,_ Triton told himself. _The more pain Percy would be in, the lesser he will have the ability to be able to see past his pain and see the pain in others._ He just had to be patient.

"We can try that in court," Triton offered reluctantly, even though his entire being said differently. "Say you would only agree to get married as a mortal for a mortal lifetime. Even if you have to go through with it, you'd be freed in death."

Percy scoffed halfheartedly. "Then I just have to figure out how to look my friends in the eye ever again." Then with dawning horror, "Oh my god! How am I ever gonna look anyone in the eye ever again? I know Apollo campers. It's hard not to, there are so many of them. And in Roman camps. And legacies. Oh gods, Nico is dating Will. And, oh gods, I once made out with an Apollo camper. And, oh gods-"

"Percy, breath." Triton tried.

"-what is mom gonna think? Like, Hades. She's already had her life ruined by one god and now-"

"Hey," Triton said sharply, catching Percy's eye. "Her life was not ruined. She got you of the deal. I don't know what she had to face, but if she really is as great as you claim she is, she'd say the same."

"Yeah, she would," Percy said quietly, almost tiredly, a sudden dizzying tilt from his mania just seconds before. "I'm tired now. I'm going to sleep," Percy decided.

"You mind if I stay here?" Triton asked, wary at the sudden mood swings. He knew that that was how it worked, but he'd never seen it before. Besides, if Percy really felt that sick, then he was high risk. (And possibly suicidal, but Triton didn't like to think about that.)

"Yeah, you wanna stay and watch like a creep? Is this whole family made up of creeps and pedophiles?" Percy asked venomously.

Triton had been half-expecting this. It still hurt. He's in too much pain to know any better, Triton told himself. Triton couldn't unload _his_ pain here too.

Percy softened a little anyway. "Stay," he said, patting his head. Triton could read that reluctance in his face but he sat down anyway.

"You know, that thing I just said…" Percy started, then abruptly stopped, letting it hang between them.

Triton waited a pause as they both quietly laid side-by-side, staring at all they had said that they hadn't meant to and all they had meant to say but couldn't get out.

"It's fine," Triton finally said, when Percy couldn't get the words out, couldn't apologize for the one thing he might have said wrong when there were hundreds of things that had been done wrong against him.

"It's not fair," Percy whined. Then rolled over and onto Triton's chest.

"It's not fair," he whispered again. And again. And again. Until he got angry enough to hit the pillows and screamed how unfair it was to the the world, punching the wall hard enough to draw blood which healed before he could even feel the pinch. Then just fell back to the bed, sobbing helplessly, over and over, until his nose reddened and his eyes blurred and his head hurt so bad he finally fell asleep.

Triton just blankly stared to the ceiling, hands behind his head, sincerely counting the numbers until Percy fell asleep and only then did he let his own silent tears fall.

* * *

"I cannot believe this," Poseidon complained to Amphitrite as he resolved yet another dispute.

"Focus on court," Amphitrite chided lightly.

"But I am here, doing Triton's jobs and he is out doing whatever it is that he is doing."

"You mean, bonding with and taking your mortal son's time and attention away from you."

"His name is Percy," Poseidon grumbled. "And of course not, I don't care about any of that. It's just taking me from my other tasks-"

"Like, talk to Percy and hang out with him and-"

"Woman, my life does not revolve around one mortal."

"Up until 3-4 years ago, of course not. After that, though, he started to grow on you."

"Yes, it was-"

Amphitrite gasped, dropping her cordial mask and getting colder, having successfully tricked his husband into revealing the truth. "It is true. You were disappointed in his birth, even though it was all your fault."

Poseidon cursed under his breath. There was one thing his wife could never tolerate and he, though not as vehement and vocal as his wife, usually agreed and it was that children were sacred.

He had never turned away even his monstrous children and he would not have turned away Percy even when he had been unsure about the Prophecy Child. But his wife would not accept such excuses. He had just pretty much made one of the worst mistakes he could make with her.

"Wife, please-"

Amphitrite got up with a huff. "Find a way to apologize. And do it well. But also make sure Triton doesn't feel neglected by it."

"I can handle them both without offending the other," Poseidon said, smiling charmingly at her. "I am the god of the seas, you know."

Amphitrite looked at him almost blankly, a glimmer of humor in her eyes. "I meant, don't steal Percy away from Triton too much. He'd feel bad without his new best friend around."

Poseidon threw up his hands in exasperation.

"You're cute when you're jealous," Amphitrite chuckled. "But this still doesn't get you out of this mess. You make a mess, you clean it up, honey." She swam a few steps before turning around, deliberately in the Council's earshot.

"And darling, someone insulted our youngest and upset our eldest. They're in the dungeons. Lend them a hand too, will you? But, uh, Percy wanted to be lenient, so no marks, okay? We'll officially be discussing their punishment in front of Percy. Make him feel a bit more at home here."

She smiled coldly, her teeth bared. Poseidon smiled back, just as blankly. "That would be my pleasure, dear."

Poseidon called on another case in court, ignoring the way they all stared in wide-eyed fear at their King and Queen's most volatile mood in years.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got done with my first exam, which was pretty much the only major one. (These are college entrance exams btw so I don't have to crack them all.) So overwhelming to get done with something that important, something that I have spent so much of my time and patience on, sacrificed so much for. Just hope that I get a decent result after all. Anyway, moving on, this means that I can get back to posting twice a week after all. I can't wait.
> 
> For those who missed it the last time, CHECK OUT NEPENTHE TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN TRITON AND ATHENA. I will not be explaining it again, and I think it is worth a read anyway. Also, I'm posting another one-shot, one that's been sitting in my folder since before I even posted this fic. I was waiting for the right moment and this seems to be it.
> 
> And getting to the important parts; on with the story!

First date. Percy wasn't sure he was ready for his first date with his fiancé. Percy made a face; he was engaged to be married. He was taken. He was-

"Stop thinking about the f-word," Triton suggested. Which was now fiancé, of course.

Right. So, but still…what was he supposed to wear? "Should I go in my worst pair of jeans or my most faded t-shirt? I can't wear both because they somehow actually go together."

"You have them both here?"

"Yeah, dad got me most of my stuff here from New Rome. He even got me my skate-board even though I don't really need it."

In other words, Triton summarized, he brought everything Percy could need or want for so he wouldn't miss New Rome.

"You know how you're being a super brat all the time?"

"I am?" Percy looked genuinely surprised.

Triton ignored the confirmation he had needed. "Do that with Apollo. That guy loves the mirror and his hair more than anything else in the world. He'll run away screaming."

Percy snickered at the mental image, then abruptly sobered. "But seriously, Triton. Am I really being too much?" He asked, all big green eyes and sad pout.

Triton melted. "It's just a little hard seeing you in pain," he understated. "But I'd much rather be in here than out there wondering what's wrong."

"I know I'm being difficult," Percy said. "Thanks for everything."

"Yeah," Triton said with a smile, "You're a super annoying brat who accidentally got married to a man thousands of years his senior-"

"Triton," Percy laughed despite himself, lightly slapping his shoulder. "You're incorrigible."

"Big word right there," Triton said, looking impressed and pleased. (Though really, he was just happy that this was the first time he had thought of his inevitable marriage with more than just disgust. Life wasn't fair and sometimes things went wrong. Percy needed to be strong and accept his new reality for the sake of his own piece of mind.)

"Shut up," Percy said absently, now standing in front of his wardrobe to look through his clothes.

"Okay, look on the bright side. By the time you get back, your room will be ready."

Percy looked around in confusion. "What's wrong with this room?"

"This room is just a simple guest room. When dad came in, he put you in the first room he came across and you didn't seem to be in any mood to move. But by the time you come back from this date, we'll have your room ready. And your room does mean your room. Even if you don't live here and only visit occasionally, nobody will touch it."

"You don't have to do that," he said but still grinned, pleased.

"This is your home too, isn't it?"

Percy looked at Triton almost blankly. "Yes, I suppose," he muttered. Triton couldn't figure out if it was callous denial or warm acceptance of the fact.

Percy awkwardly tugged at his hair. He was not comfortable in his suit at all. It was a nice suit, apparently tailor-made for him or so Amphitrite had assured him. Because apparently, he could not go for his date in a torn-off denim and faded t-shirt.

As if he needed another reason to hate their 'dates'.

"I'll take you up to the surface," Triton offered.

"No, Triton, _you_ will stay here and finish up your duties. That you've been neglecting," Poseidon said sternly. Amphitrite chuckled.

"Oh it's alright. I can go up to the surface by myself." Percy said hurriedly. As much as he liked to get Triton into almost trouble, he didn't actually want him in trouble. _Almost_ was the key word here.

"It's no problem," Poseidon soothed him. "It won't take long."

Amphitrite chuckled again. "If it's no trouble, how about I take him to the surface?" Amphitrite asked, lacing her arm with his. "A little bit of step-mother step-son bonding."

"Sure," Percy said, shrugging. Amphitrite was way cooler than he had expected or hoped she could be.

"Sure, _mother_. Or mom. Whatever you prefer, my dear," she smiled serenely at him.

Percy looked at her, wide-eyed. "Um, okay." He paused. He couldn't say 'mom'. Mom was always and would always be bright eyes and that mischievous smile and that smell of candies. As cool as Amphitrite seemed, she could never ever ever replace Sally Jackson.

And yet, was it even a matter of replacement?

"Mother," he tried. She beamed so big at him, pulling him into a hug so warm and tight that it melted most of his doubts about it away. Only his mom could make him shed the rest.

"Oh, c'mon," Poseidon said in disbelief. "This is just not fair."

Percy looked at him in confusion, pulling away from-from his _mother_ now, apparently. He was so missing something here.

Both Triton and Amphitrite burst out laughing. "Oh, honey. Even jealousy looks cute on you."

"Even?" he said grumpily.

"It is a very ugly emotion," Triton chimed in. "And, gross."

"I'm sorry? I'm missing something, aren't I? Again." Percy intruded.

"Oh, honey. He's just sorry not to be spending enough time with you." Amphitrite smiled, pushing his hair away from his forehead.

Percy looked at him in surprise, but before he could say anything more, Amphitrite added, "But like I said, this time is mine."

"No, it's not," Poseidon tried to draw himself to his full formidable form, the one that made even his brothers wary. It was no use. Now even Percy joined in their giggling. Great, Poseidon thought grumpily. He was just a joke now, wasn't he?

"I see what you mean," Percy said, hiccupping a little from laughing too hard.

"Anyway, I'll be taking him up." Poseidon ignored their latest bout of laughter. It was wonderful to hear his family laugh, even if it was at his expense. "I have to have a talk with Apollo."

"Oh yes" Both Triton and Amphitrite grinned. Percy smiled almost shyly. "You'll tell him to back off, right?"

"Exactly," Poseidon assured him. "And, I got you a gift."

"What is it?" Percy perked up. Poseidon didn't miss Triton's subtle instinctive reaction. He had always been an only child, Poseidon had been suspecting that it would hard to share affection and attention with another.

Triton had been pretty good about it all. But feelings could not forced on to or away from someone. Good and bad. Poseidon had no intention of letting it go far enough that Triton's jealousy started consuming him instead of the other way around.

"There is one for both of you," Poseidon said, though he had initially meant to keep one to himself.

He clasped the wrist band to Percy's wrist first. It was a intimidating, tough-looking band, made of a mix of Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold and Divine Silver, giving it an uncanny antique feel.

The snake at the head had unsettlingly sharp eyes, tail in mouth. The 'body' of the snake was scribbled with ancient words and ruins and signs, hand-crafted by the finest sorcerers in his kingdom.

"This is protection," Poseidon told him. Then looked at both of his sons sharply, making sure to catch their eyes to show how serious he was.

"There are two of these bands. They connect the wearers. If one is angry or in pain, hurt in some way, they will provide a path for the two to connect. They are sensitive enough even to inform the other when someone is just irritated or annoyed. Eventually. Depends on the bond between the two wearers. It will take time and patience."

"But the sea is a medium to connect to anyway," Triton pointed out. "We don't need bands to look after each other."

"They're a bit more sensitive than that," Poseidon said. "I know when anyone in my family is hurt or in pain. Physically. But I think Percy's needs are a bit more emotional at this point." He caught Percy's chin in hand, looking at his red flush disapprovingly. "Nothing wrong with being human, yes?"

"Y-yes." Percy agreed.

"But Percy, I had them made because you need them. That does not, however, diminish your responsibility to Triton. If he helps you out in your time of need, these are also to help him out in his. These bands are necessary to jump through the awkward phase of asking each other for help. When you know he needs help, I want you to look after him just as well as he will after you, yes?"

"Yes, of course," Percy quietly promised.

"And Triton. This is a big responsibility. If you feel like this is too much, you can back out now."

"But I can't back out of being a brother now, can I?" There was wry humor in his tone and Poseidon smiled at hearing it.

"Exactly. You two are already brothers. This is just a way to hasten up from first introductions to close brothers."

Triton and Percy both glanced at each other, a silent agreement on their faces. "Yeah, okay," Percy agreed just as Triton just, "Yes, I want to."

Poseidon smiled and clasped the second identical wrist band onto Triton's wrist.

Percy looked out towards the deserted beach, not listening in while Apollo and Poseidon had a quiet 'talk'. He had never seen one so devoid of human interference. There were no humans, no sea-side cabins, no wrappers and no fault lines as far as he could see.

Standing there in a black suit with his polished shoes felt weird. Like, he might just be the first one there, and he couldn't even enjoy it.

"Percy," Poseidon motioned for him to come over to them. He put his hand on Percy's shoulder, a calming gesture as he looked blankly to Apollo. "Nephew, I mean it. Mind your manners, yes?"

Apollo nodded. Percy was in no mood to look at him, averting his eyes. He didn't want to look down either though, didn't want to seem submissive to that bastard of all people, so he kept his eyes on the roaring waves behind Apollo, ebbing and flowing, fierce and wild and free.

Poseidon squeezed his shoulder once, letting go. "Take care of yourself, kiddo. I'll be back for you in a couple of hours."

A couple of hours too long… "Or maybe Triton will. Or Amphi-Mother will." Percy corrected himself halfway through.

Poseidon threw him a half-amused, half-exasperated look, fading away into the sea without a word further.

Percy awkwardly wondered how he should start this conversation, what he should say.

 _Well, great! It's my kidnapper!_ Too passive-aggressive for someone he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with, and one who was obviously a rather clever opponent.

 _Hi!_ Too casual for a man who had stolen and forcefully almost married him.

"Let's go so I can get back home as quick as possible," Percy said, moving on. _Well, that's one way to do it,_ he shrugged to himself. And it wasn't like he was going to be trying too hard for this guy.

Apollo jogged to catch up. "Wait, we can't walk all the way there."

Percy stopped as Apollo caught up to him.

"Great, so how are we supposed to get there? A cab? A boat-" Percy enumerated.

"Teleportation," Apollo said in the same tone.

"Okay," Percy said and looked at him expectantly.

They both stared at each other expectantly for a moment until Apollo said, "You'll have to give me your hand. It's easier to teleport that way and I doubt you want pieces of you left behind."

Percy looked at that clean-shaven soft skin, those baby blue eyes, sunny blonde hair and _loathed_ his perfect teeth. "I already hate this date," he said, handing him his arm, trying to fight the urge to yank it back like a wounded small pup.

Apollo tried for a smile and Percy did something between a frown and a grimace.

This was going to be a fun first date.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first date and an unexpected surprise...

They landed with a whirl, hand-in-hand in front of a simple-looking restaurant.

But the street was what caught his attention. He looked back from the restaurant to see a completely deserted street. A ghost town, filled with human relics but devoid of actual humans.

Percy's heart sank. When had he last seen a human mortal?

It felt like ages since he had been in New Rome and longer still since he had gone out before that. He suddenly missed New York, loud and crowded and busy and uncaring of individual life-forms.

In the past few days, he had been catered to and looked after and pampered; he had had more attention on him than he had in all of the years of his childhood. Combined.

He had spent those years wishing and hoping for a father to hold his hand and had more than anything, selfishly wished for his mother to earn a little more, just enough so that she had time to sit with him at night and read him stories and tuck him in.

Now he had a father who loved him well, a mother who earned well and though they were not together, both of their families cared too much for him.

And yet…

He shrugged off his guilt and resolved to whine less and be more grateful. There was always something to be sad about. He needed to look to the good.

"There is no-one around," Percy pointed out, still longing for a glimpse of someone normal.

"C'mon," Apollo said, tugging him in, ignoring what he'd said, which was pretty much the foundation of their relationship. _No,_ Percy told himself sternly, _there is no relationship. You are just engaged to the guy and-good gods, this is so not helping!_ _  
_

Percy reluctantly followed.

"This is one of Eros' haunts," Apollo explained. "Eros is the embodiment of love-"

"Wait a second." Percy said, his brain screeching to a halt. "The embodiment of love? But that would make him a-a-"

"Primordial," Apollo filled in his blank.

Percy snapped his fingers. "Exactly. I thought he was Aphrodite's son."

"And wouldn't life be easier if he was a bit less powerful?" Apollo said mournfully. "I made that mistake once and insulted him. Don't you do it too. He is very powerful and very cruel."

"Aww. I know you wouldn't insult me to your newest boy toy now, would you?"

Percy and Apollo both looked to the guy, one in apprehensive fear, the other in surprise.

"Death," Percy realized.

"No, Percy. I said to not insult him," Apollo hissed in his ear.

They both ignored him. "Yes," Eros admitted. "Me and Thanatos are often mistaken for each other. Both of us are primordial brothers, after all."

Percy snapped his fingers. "That's what he said. Something like that, at least."

"I know," Eros smiled. He was just as unnaturally, mesmerizingly beautiful as Death. He had the same pull, the same dark eyes that pulled you in and refused to let you go. " He told me about you. I mean, I already knew you well enough. But he gave me a first hand account. He is very fond of you, you know."

"Oh," Percy said, surprised. "He is very kind." Because that seemed safe to say. And had the added bonus of being true.

Eros caught his eyes, his own infinitely deep and knowing. He smiled, a mesmerizing tilt that caught Percy's attention, coming forward to stand between the two of them.

Eros entwined his arms with both of theirs, Percy on his right and Apollo on left. He tugged at the two of them, startling them into moving.

"C'mon in!" Eros said enthusiastically. "If you'd let me, Percy, I'd like to choose a meal for you this time around. Custom-based on your palate, of course," Eros winked at him.

"Is it like fine dining?" Percy asked, hesitantly.

"It could be. Or it could be burgers from the nearest fast-food chain. Popcorn in a movie theatre. Everyone has different ideas for a first date. But you're already here, so a little fine dining is in order, I suppose."

"I'm not really all that fond of fine dining and stuff," Percy admitted. He never really was comfortable with grandiose structures and extravagant gestures of love. His life was already exaggerated enough. He didn't need to chase after a high of an adventure there.

For him, love was his mom tucking him in and kissing his cheek; Paul wordlessly taking over his cooking duty when he had been too tired to after a monster attack; the Stolls sneaking him a six-pack of coke and leaving it in his room, no note, after the war as if to say thank you; Annabeth holding his hand tight and him saying that their friendship was stronger than any romance could ever be…

"Well, no. You really aren't." Eros said, giving him a cursory glance. "Oh yes, you have your wiring up there all set up in the right places."

"You mean, my brain?" He asked hesitantly, doubting it.

Eros winked at him. "You caught that, huh? Most people think so. But I meant your heart. You're very pure and clear in there. But your brain works pretty good too."

"Um, thank you?"

"You're very welcome, sweetheart." Eros turned to Apollo. "See, Apollo? You should learn something from him."

Apollo gritted his teeth. "You're ruining our first date."

"Ruining? No, no, dear. I am saving what I can." He glanced towards Percy, a smile still on his face. "For Percy's sake, of course. I mean, c'mon, what's more romantic than having Cupid on your date? Mortals try for fake, tacky versions. You've got the real deal right here. SO romantic! Am I right?" He grinned, showing off all of his 32 white, perfect teeth.

"Yes, I suppose," Percy tried optimistically just as Apollo snarled, "NO!"

"Oh, c'mon, Apollo," Percy waved his hand. "We're engaged. I don't want to be here, but you've already got me here and this date is just a farce. We're not really having a nice, first date. If we were, I'd already have thrown my water in your face and stomped out, dramatically yelling that we should see other people and then I'd never have to see your stupid mug ever again," he said in a casual tone.

Both Apollo and Eros stared open-mouthed in surprise.

"Well," Eros said, trying to bite back down on his surprise. "Looks like this angel has a bit of a bite."

"Not a bit," he said seriously. "People think that just because I'm nice, I'll roll over. But trust me, I didn't survive this far by playing nice. And Apollo, I'm going to make your immortal life hell. You think you won some prize? I'll prove to you that this prize was not fucking worth it. If you don't believe me, maybe you should see some of those Hephaestus reels again."

Apollo mumbled something, _Uh-_ mixed with a lot of gibberish and wide eyed surprise. Even Eros seemed speechless. Percy guessed that Love was not often speechless.

Percy ignored them, walking on confidently in his suit. "You were saying something about ordering for me, Love?"

Eros took a second to realize that it was him being talked to. When had he lost control of this situation? Had he ever even been in control here? Hades, when was the last time he had lost the plot of the story so quickly? Never. That's when.

Percy stopped at the door-way, looking back to see the two gods staring blankly at him. Why did people keep assuming that good was synonymous to harmless? Because if he was a nice, sweet, good boy, he was pretty much harmless, right?

"What are you two waiting for?" He dropped the posture and that darkness in his eyes, the venom in his words as abruptly as they had come in, as if it had never even happened. He even smiled, all warm and soft, no hidden agenda obvious in his eyes.

Eros snapped out of his shock first, throwing his head back, laughing, as he walked on. "Oh, darling! I see now why Thanatos thought so highly of you." He clapped Percy's shoulder. "This is one of the best days of my immortal life. And this has to be one of the most intriguing dates I've had in a while."

"This isn't your date," Apollo managed from behind them. He was ignored yet again.

Eros guided Percy to his table as soon as they walked in. Not out of some misguided common courtesy but because barely three steps in, Percy walked into a table. In his defense, it was pitch black.

"The wait-staff and regulars know where everything is by muscle memory," Eros explained, guiding him in. "I asked Erebus for a favor once. Even gods can't see anything here."

"Why?" Percy asked, feeling uncomfortable without his eye-sight.

"Oh, sight interferes with a lot of things. It's silly how much people stop _seeing_ when they have their sight. Food here is made to taste, and not to show. The dates are about company and not eye-candy. And the company here is without distraction and interference."

"That's a nice concept."

"Yes," Eros said dreamily. "I'll tell you about my wife sometime. It's a sad but hopeful story. We ended up married in the end and all is well that ends well, am I right?"

"It helps, I suppose." Percy conceded. He was starting to relax again, even without his eye-sight.

"Here, that's our table right here. And-yeah, right there," Eros helped him in. Percy heard the scrape of another chair and seconds later, yet another one.

"Thanks for leaving me behind," Apollo said sulkily.

Percy rolled his eyes, naturally unseen in the dark. Eros tsked, "Jealousy is a very dangerous emotion. I'd be careful, Apollo. Things done in the dark have a way of coming back to bite us in the end. And your fiancé is a bit more sensitive than most."

"I am not a wilting flower," Percy chimed in, but not in annoyance.

"Well, no. I mean, sensitive emotionally. Receptive to others. High EQ, if you will. It can be a good thing. Or a very bad one. I suppose that's all up to you."

"How is it bad to have a high EQ?"

"Oh, it can be very depressing. Seeing people and their pain everywhere, it can be a hard burden to carry. But enough about philosophy, I suppose. How are you liking Atlantis so far? I've heard it's beautiful, but I've never had the chance to go. Never even asked for an invite in my defense though, I always had something more to do," Eros explained.

"Oh, it's beautiful. I love it," Percy said warmly. "And I'm not just talking about the palace and the kingdom which of course looks beautiful. I mean, dad's awesome and we actually got to spend a little while even though he was a little busy with the mess. Triton is pretty cool, but don't you go saying that to his face-"

Eros snickered.

"-And Mother is nice too-"

"You don't mean your birth mom, right?" Apollo recognized.

"No, Amphitrite. She is mother now. Mom is mom. So. It's pretty cool so far."

"Oh yes," Eros said warmly. "I feel it. You love them and they love you a lot too already. There is a very firm foundation for some very strong relationships there. And Percy, try to remember. It's not always about blood. Be brave and let them in. You'll be surprised."

"O-okay?" Percy wasn't sure he got it yet, but put the words in to ponder over some other time. "What about you guys?"

"Just trying to clean up the mess that Apollo made," Eros whined promptly and without hesitation.

"You mean this marriage?" Percy tried.

"Eros," Apollo kicked at him and managed to get them both at awkward angles, thankfully not hurting the mortal demigod with his godly strength.

"What, no. That's probably the smoothest disaster Apollo managed so far," Eros said, darkly amused. "Oh, eat up, the food is here." Someone from behind Percy caught his hand and guided him to his plate and forks, making him jump.

"Sorry," a voice said softly in his ear. "I thought you knew the customs here. I'll just be guiding you a little. Most new customers are not much used to the dark."

"Well yeah, you got that right."

The voice chuckled. "Bon Appetit," it whispered and walked away.

Percy sat in the dark, and realized what Eros had meant. It was just another server, but here in the dark, he was a fascinating mystery. In any other old diner, seeing the guy would have already appeased him well enough, like if a guy looks normal enough, there are no mysteries to uncover.

But, in the dark, it was an endless source of fascination. Who was the guy? What did he look like? What was he like? Percy shrugged off his curiosity and focused back to his meal.

It took him a couple of tries to sink his fork into the softer food instead of the hard plate. Neither of his two companions said a thing, their cutlery perfectly hitting the food on first try. Percy blushed despite himself and was once again thankful that this was a dark, black room and nobody could see him.

Unless they lied to him. Gods, but he hoped they hadn't lied to him. He was pretty sure he was acting like a fool here, blindly stabbing in the dark. Literally.

The first bite was an explosion of flavors. "That's good," Percy said in surprise.

"I told you so," Eros said smugly.

"An _I told you so_? What are you, a child?"

"Like you wouldn't have said the same thing," Eros pointed out.

"Well, yeah. But compared to you guys, I'm really a child."

"Yeah, touché. Hey, does that make Apollo a cradle robber?"

Percy chuckled as Apollo mumbled his protests. Not as bad a first date as he had been expecting after all.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My result came out. A bit disappointed, because I had build up high expectations based on my marks. But ultimately, I've done better than ever before, which I think is an achievement that I would be able to appreciate once I'm done being disappointed. Maybe. Nothing to be done about that either way though. What's done is done. Anyway, hope you guys had a good week. And onto the story:

The date went _terribly_. Apollo had suspected it wouldn't be perfect. Because of course Poseidon was angry, raging mad, furious and he would have just poisoned Percy against Apollo.

That's why Apollo had chosen this restaurant of all of his choices.

He was supposed to get Percy here, who would have been pouting at being deceived (that cute, petulant look in his eyes as he would sit off to the side, lips pursed in some sort of a duck face that never failed to make Apollo smile) and he would tell him about this exclusive place and say, _I brought you here because I know you didn't want to see me, but I had to see you, and I just…_

It was going to be _perfect_.

And yet again, Love had come in to ruin his perfect love story. There was heaps of irony in there somewhere that Apollo was fuming too much to be able to enjoy.

And it wasn't like he could do too much here. Last time had been a lesson enough and like Hades was he putting Percy on the line here. One hate arrow and they'd be off to a doomed tragedy before they even get started.

Apollo's only grace was that Eros seemed to actually _like_ Percy. Which, okay. Percy was pretty awesome. But Eros was just so cruel, it was hard to compute.

And then of course, Eros proved he was a world-class jerk on their way out.

"Oh," Eros said in sweet surprise, dark eyes glittering disturbingly. "Such a shame about it all, isn't it? I mean, there are the epidemics and that pandemic and the sun not coming out, which pretty mush froze everything. Including a few thousand lives. It's really not a good time to be _me_ right now."

"I'm sorry," Percy opened his palms in a stop sign. "The what and the what and the what now?"

"Well, I did say Apollo's smoothest disaster was you. Just not the only one. I hope your _friends_ are all safe," he said in faux sympathy, smiled slyly at Apollo, eyeing him sideways with a vicious smirk. "It would be-"

"Wait a second," Percy said, ruffling his hair. "You're telling me that there is what- a huge crisis or something going on over here and I don't even know about it. That's impossible."

"Is it? When did you last come out in the mortal world?"

Apollo can see the calculations in his mind, the onset of panic, the realization that something is really, really wrong.

"Percy," he tried, stepping forward. "I-"

Apollo clutched his head at the explosion of pain. No way could a mortal hit that hard. Hero of Olympus or not, strength wasn't his strongest forte. He peered up to see Triton- _Triton?_ Where the Hades did he come from?

"You okay, little brother?" Triton asked, all sweet concern, like he hadn't just assaulted an Olympian god.

"Triton," Apollo growled, his eyes flaring up, body burning right at the seams. "What is it that you think you're doing? Interfering in my personal matters?"

"Percy is my personal matter," Triton said coldly, instinctively getting into a defensive stance.

"Not on a date he isn't. Poseidon does realize that-"

"Dad didn't send me. I came without permission."

Apollo paused. That was unexpected. And annoying. If Poseidon was directly interfering, Apollo could get the Council involved.

As it is, Triton had different kinds of freedom. He wasn't a father, he was a brother. And being a minor god, he could get away with a bit more than his father could.

On the other hand, Apollo thought with grim satisfaction, he could do a lot worse to Triton than he could ever to Poseidon and actually get minimal punishment for it.

"Oh, you wanna fight, Triton?" He tamped down on his urge to go nuclear. He could sense the gods' move, change directions, look down to see what was going wrong. If he started a fight, there would be a few more running down to take sides like they always did.

"No," Percy said firmly, so ferociously they both blinked, coming down from the high of a battle almost fought. "The date is over. We ate, we're out. I'm done. And Apollo," he stared him down, eyes serious and venomous. "That's my brother. Don't you dare lay a hand on him."

"You don't own me," Apollo warned him quietly, right on the edge but unwilling to pick a battle with Percy of all people.

"And neither do you," Percy reminded him, soft but firm. "We're engaged. Against my will. But that is the only thing that is happening or will ever happen against my will. You won't stop me from going where I want to go or do what I want to do. And you especially don't stop me from meeting up with my family or try to hurt them. Because trust me, Apollo, I have never killed a god before but I am so not afraid to give it a try," his words were so soft, so calm, but his eyes were deep, serious. Apollo believed him.

He stepped aside.

Percy walked on, head held high, stride just as confident, tugging on a startled open-mouthed freak, AKA Triton.

Apollo watched him walk away. So confident, so capable, so heroic. It didn't feel like he had lost to someone below him. He didn't feel embarrassed at stepping aside so easily. There was one capable of challenging him and how could he be ashamed at losing to the mortal who was actually on even footing with him?

* * *

Percy stomped down the street, wishing he had his boots or his shoes so he could really give the ground a good, nice pounding. Dress shoes were just never as good for it.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi," Triton said in quiet awe.

"Language," Percy said absently, out of habit.

Triton didn't seem to have heard. "You just flat out roasted an Olympian god. And stared him down. Without repercussions. Like, just. That has never happened before, you know."

"Yes, Triton," Percy said in the same tone he used with Estelle when she was demanding his attention when he was otherwise busy. "But apparently, I am the love of his life. Now hush. I gotta figure out where we are and how to get home."

"You're going the wrong way," Triton said, snapping to the present. "It's that way." And pointed to the opposite direction.

"No, it's not." Percy said, confused. "That way is the ocean. And it goes on for ages, so that's-Wait a minute. Triton, I don't mean to the palace. I mean, to my mom. Hold on, why are you being so pissy?"

"I am not," Triton said easily, calmly. Percy squinted. He could really read nothing worrying on Triton. But how long had he know Triton anyway? Not too long. Not long enough to able to read him in a glance.

"The magic bracelet does not lie," Percy crossed his arms and stopped, turning to face Triton. "Spill."

"It's nothing," Triton said, face just as calm, eyes just as honest. "Maybe you're reading it wrong."

"I am really not," Percy said, surer than ever. "What's wrong? We're not moving until you tell me what's bothering you so much."

"Do I look bothered?" Triton asked earnestly, face open.

Percy ruthlessly tamped down on his doubt. Triton was a _spectacular_ actor. But Percy wasn't the sort to back down. And Triton could absolutely not use his own tactics against him. That just wouldn't do.

"Yes," Percy lied. "We have the same poker face."

For the first time since the whole thing, Triton's eyes furrowed. "That's impossible. I have no tells. No-one can ever tell when I'm lying."

That sounds lonely, Percy thought. "Well, I can. So spill."

"Not until you tell me what my tells are." Triton insisted.

"I'm not telling," Percy argued back, crossing his arms with a huff. (He was starting to get what Triton's tells were, but like hell was he saying a thing.) "You won't do it again then."

"Yeah, that's the point," Triton argued hotly.

"But no-one else knows your tells and I'm not gonna tell anyone. So you can trust me. And besides, I need to know when you're lying."

"Why?"

"'Cause you're my brother," Percy said as if it were perfectly obvious.

"Brother?" Triton snorted almost bitterly. "You certainly don't act like it."

"I'm sorry?"

"Atlantis isn't your home. We aren't your family. Isn't that what you said?"

"That's-that's what's bothering you?"

"You say you're my brother. But actions speak louder than words. And you certainly don't act it."

Percy melted down, all slumped shoulders and pouty eyes. "It's just been a couple of weeks, Triton. And dad and me…we have a difficult relationship. I love him, but he is a god before he is my father. And he has had a bazillion kids before me. And he will have so many more. I'll be just another footnote in history."

"That's not how it is."

"Of course it is, Triton. I'm not sad, so you don't need to console me. That's just how it is. You're cool and we're already as close as two brothers can be. But your mom and dad…staying in a palace is just a reminder of just how different my world is compared to-" He waved his hand around unable to find a word.

"We won't be living in different worlds anymore. After your marriage-"

Percy's face twisted like it always did at the idea, a mixture of embarrassment and repulsion and what never failed to give Triton pause: childishly scandalized by the whole affair. "We'll see."

"Wait a second, you're not seriously thinking you can actually get out of this right now, do you?"

"Won't know until I try," he said neutrally.

"You are. Percy, there is no chance-"

"And there was no chance that we'd win the first war or the second. Or that I'd live past my sixteen. Or survive Tartarus. And yet, here I am. One thing life has taught me is that nothing is impossible. And trust me, I'd rather _die_ than marry a creep like him. Let him think I'm okay with this and let him get his guard down. I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"If you think that'll work," Triton started.

"Triton, when I said I'd rather _die_ than get married to him, I was not exaggerating. I mean it." Percy said firmly. "There are a few um, _extreme_ options that I have. Last minute backup plans, if you will. But like hell, am I losing this fight."

And there it is. The secret to Percy's success that no-one seems to catch on. That fury-filled self-righteousness; the lazy arrogance against the people he hated; because like Tartarus was he going to ever let them win. _Just you wait and watch, I'll tear them all apart._ And Chaos help anyone in his warpath.

"That's not healthy."

"Yes, because this 'relationship," Dean air-quoted, "has been so very healthy so far. Look, Triton. You're an awesome brother. And we just sort of click together. But we really have known each other for literally only-um," Percy floundered a little, thinking.

"8 days," Triton supplied neutrally.

"8 days." Percy echoed. "You don't know anything about me, not enough to make a judgement anyway. You don't like it? Too bad. You're not the boss of me. We're practically strangers that met a week ago. And it was nice of you to take care of me. I'll be willing to repay back that favor in an appropriate fashion if that's what it comes to. But you can't guilt-trap me into going your way just because you were nice to me for a week. That's not how this works."

Percy stared at Triton intently. "So which is it, Triton? You with me or against me?"

Triton looked back at Percy, mouth twisted sourly. "With, you heathen child" he muttered. "Even if I don't like or approve, I'd rather be with you than in the dark."

Percy smiled, shoulders relaxing at Triton's honesty echoing back firmly from his wrist band. "You're a good brother, Triton. C'mon, let's go find my mom and find out what the hell has been going on in this world while I've been living under a rock. I'm sure you'll love her." Percy said, walking on.

Triton followed. Yeah, he loved his brother's suicidal, extreme plans and he would definitely like this woman who had made his father stray from his vows and doomed Percy's life to a probable tragedy.

The coming days were going to be _fun_. Triton could just see it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer-than-usual wait guys. But I've been terribly busy these past few days and just couldn't make time. Frosh week started and is unsurprisingly, not as fun online as it is physically. Still, I am making friends, having fun and just waiting impatiently for my college to start. I know it might take a while, and I just can't wait. Anyway, I had 98.6 percentile this time, which is not bad. Just not enough to get me my dream college. But this one is looking so good to me now, and I'm excited about everything! Still, not so-good news for you: I'm going to update only once a week until I can make time for this again. So, anyway, enough rambling, here you go:

Triton stumbled yet again, muttering curses under his breath.

"If you'd just be a bit more careful," Percy suggested from a couple of steps ahead. Before Triton could snap at him, Percy stumbled too, catching himself before he fell down. Triton derived a detached feeling of vindication at the sight, but he was too tired for any more.

"This is-" Percy sat down in the wreckage and rested his chin on his knees. Despite the meek gesture, Percy looked anything but meek. His face was lost but his eyes were stormy. Despite looking so lost, his back was straight, his shoulders firm.

Percy was such a natural leader, his power entangled so tightly into his very being, even sitting in the ruins of some riot-torn building, surrounded by sheer and utter destruction, he looked like a commander.

"My city is destroyed," Percy said in an even tone, eyes stormy. He looked up at Triton, "I let my guard down for a little while and Apollo, that scoundrel, that rat bastard, tricked me into accepting a marriage proposal and destroyed my city. You see, Triton?" He said conversationally, almost calmly. "This is why I'm going to destroy him and tear down his home and heart."

_And there are three things all wise mean fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon and the anger of a gentle man._

Triton swallowed. He sat down next to Percy. "I'm too tired to fight you on this."

It had been emotionally tiring. Angry mobs and looting. Fear and anger and panic. Buildings ravaged and torn and deserted. Streets deserted in some places, being torn down in others. Debris on the ground, cracked walls and wailing children.

There were no cars or anything around. Anybody foolish enough would be mobbed and torn apart. That is, if the person could drive through the debris littering the streets which was pretty impossible in and of itself.

"Let's just go," Percy said firmly. Triton followed without a word.

Getting to New York had been easy. Just get to the essence of Olympus' power. But Triton did not know how to find Sally Jackson's house and so could not teleport there. That left getting help or walking to their target. Walking suited Percy just fine. He said he wanted to see the damage.

Triton found it exhausting. He hadn't been in the mortal world enough to get a general sense of this world. He was nigh impossible to beat in the seas. Here was a different matter altogether. It drained him. He wanted to get back home, to it's beautiful gardens and lively chatter.

"Triton-"

"I want to get home," Triton told him petulantly. He didn't care about those stupid mortals. They weren't his concern. He knew well, because he took very good care of those under his rule. This was just unfair. He had helped built a beautiful, wonderful kingdom under the sea and was now being forced to see such filth. Humans really weren't good for much, were they?

"Nothing's stopping you," Percy pointed out with an irritated look to him.

Triton growled low in his throat, randomly exploding a nearby abandoned building to smithereens.

Percy looked unimpressed. "How and who did that help?"

"Me," Triton said sullenly, pushing past Percy and onwards. "So I wouldn't explode."

Percy didn't even roll his eyes. He looked around at the mindless destruction, at the still bright blue skies, brighter than he remembered in New York (but ultimately dull to a certain divine land, sweet and crisp air, and the tastiest of foods…). Pollution levels were low apparently. Wild animals were reclaiming some of the lost lands.

But all Percy felt was sorrow. Soft, unforgiving sorrow which built up to this unbearable pressure in his chest. He was too exhausted to be angry. Not tired, no, that really was too mild a word. Exhausted. In and out. He was too tired to be angry, too worn to cry.

He didn't want to even sleep. He was too wired to want to lie down. He…he didn't want to do anything. He just wanted it to pass, wanted everything to be normal.

Or actually, he wanted to jar himself back again. He wanted to get out of this…this slump, for lack of a better word. He wanted to be in his city back again.

(He didn't want to have to miss Delos ever again. No please, he did not think that or feel that, no way, Hades no, absolutely not. He hated hated _hated_ that place)

"Percy?" Triton called out, laced with irritation. "Why did you stop? We have to go. If the sun starts going down, I'm getting us to the destination my way. I'm not camping here at night, okay? It's bad enough that-"

Triton got close enough and his mouth twisted, a wave of _concernprotectionadoration_ palatable to Percy. Their connection burned bright and stronger than ever before and it really did burn, like something tangible, something close and strong and _alive._

Percy just stood there, feeling and not feeling, understanding but not really, bleeding out from a flesh wound in his heart, and no words to explain anything, not one language strong enough to tell him…what? What did he want to say? What did he want to do?

"We're done walking," Triton said, hushed and whispered, a direct contrast to the world around them, which was anything but peaceful. Percy didn't say anything, just stood there and watched him breath in and then out and then in again. Over and over and over…

Triton kept close to Percy, as close as he could. He kept his voice low, quiet, soothing; kept his core calm. Divine help was quickly and easily provided. Before he could call for 'The Chariot of Eternal Damnation', which made Triton wary especially with Percy so detached and lost, a bird dropped Triton a scroll.

Within seconds, they were at the location.

The place was the right one, one could easily tell in a glance. Even if Triton couldn't sense the magic thrumming within the place, the flora happily bobbing to the soft, mild breeze, the beautiful creatures docile and soft, minding their business around, the skies a wonderful bright blue, the woman removed any and all doubts.

Loudly and jarringly, she ran out and screamed, "My baby," and rushed to Percy, engulfing him in a tight hug, so loud, so away from the peace he had tried desperately to provide for Percy.

He bristled inwardly, then stubbornly forced it down. Stupid magic wrist bands. He couldn't feel what he wanted to feel without having to filter it.

"Mom," Percy whispered back, still lost, but more alive since he had seen his city, like he had started breathing back. Triton tried not to feel too offended. But really, who had held Percy's hand when he was scared? Through everything?

"Mom," he whispered back, a little stronger, as if just realizing what he had lost and even though Percy was taller, he didn't hesitate to bend down his head into her shoulder, eyes closed lightly and his mom, Sally her name was, Triton remembered, just held him and herself.

Held him tight but gentle. And Percy relaxed, his shoulders dropping down, eyes relaxing, as if her mere presence was enough to combat the after-effects of divine illness. Drive away his problems and an unwanted marriage and a burning city. As if her hug was worth more than all of that.

And that…that was enough to begrudgingly endear Sally Jackson to him more than a thousand words and kind gestures ever could.

There was a baby gurgling in Hera's lap, of all people. Percy came in and paused at the sight, just a fraction of a second and Hera looked up, her face at least to Triton surprisingly vulnerable, and Triton had a moment to pause and think that the goddess of marriages and families had a terrible family.

She had her own faults and was the cause for a good fraction of the problems in her own marriage, but feeling the love of such a family must be like rubbing salt in those wounds.

And Percy effortlessly proved yet another one of his secrets to success. His uncanny habit of reading people in precisely the right way at the right time. Not always, not 100% but good enough, especially when he had the privilege of being distant enough to it.

He didn't bow down or in any way act like it was odd for her to be here. He just said, "Hey, Aunt Hera," as if they were and had always been family. Hera choked in surprise but Percy had already turned around, almost casually, as if he wasn't giving her time to regain that equilibrium that she needed to.

There was a man on the doorway, handsome, middle-aged mortal, undoubtedly Sally's husband. Triton had never heard him be mentioned by Percy and just once by Poseidon when he had reassured his wife and son that he had asked Aphrodite for a favor and his lover was now well and happily married.

Triton didn't know anything about him and that uncertainty gave him pause. What was the man like? He knew his mother was an exception in how well she treated her husband's demigods, even in the godly world and mortals were even more filthy.

But the man snapped out his surprise and in two quick gestures stood in front of Percy, hugged him tight. "Kid, I was so worried." He let go and this time there was anger in his features. "I thought we agreed to take it easy out there."

Percy petulantly pouted and nodded. "It got away from me. I'm sorry, Paul."

The guy took a deep breath and nodded, said a little more quietly, no anger tones underneath anymore. "I was-we were all so worried."

"You were safe," Hera said softly. "I told you you were safe. That your family would be well-protected. There was nothing to worry about then, was there? Or did you not believe me?"

"I believed you," Paul said firmly. "But we were missing a family part." Paul smiled at Percy.

"We are his family," Hera said, almost coldly now.

Paul didn't give anyone else a chance to answer. "Of course. Doesn't stop him from being ours either. If anything, I'm happy he has so many people to look out for him." Paul seemed good-natured about it, but neither Triton nor Hera missed the obvious barb.

 _So many people to look out for him…_ It was a blatant accusation that they had never done anything even remotely close to what his mortal family. A way to lay his claim without being too aggressive about it.

Triton was grudgingly impressed. Hera was fuming too much to be able to enjoy it too much.

"I don't think we can go out and celebrate this time," Paul said, a little grimly.

"Not much to celebrate," Percy said mournfully.

"Of course there is," Paul said easily, not letting it dampen his spirits. "My family is safe. Well-fed. Relatively happy, even."

"The world is burning."

"Oh Percy, there is always something bad going on in the world. But if you start looking at only the bad parts, you might as well give up. You want to know about the good parts?" Paul sat down, patting at the space next to him.

"There was this lady, we saw it on news, who cycled over 15 km, 30 in all, to feed the children in her surrounding villages. Free of cost. Said she was just doing her part in the time of crisis. The vaccine makers have been working over-time to get out the drugs, and are aiming to give it away at a no profit-no loss scenario. The doctors are working so hard, beyond their capacity to do what they can. Are there people exploiting this fear and panic for their own profits? Of course.

But I bet you there are more people out there working to help this world than there are out to destroy it. You just have to look for people who help. There is no use being angry at those that don't. People will tell you the world is cruel. But it's really not. They're just looking in all the wrong places."

Paul looked intently, sincerely at Percy. Percy nodded but his face was still sour. He was in a funk and it would take more than a few well-placed words to get him out.

Paul seemed to realize that too, because he leaned back and smiled enthusiastically. "Wanna know something else awesome?"

Percy perked up a little, more at the tone than the words. "What?"

"Nah, you don't seem like you want to know it that bad."

"Of course I do," Percy whined, a spark of life.

"Okay…yeah, no. I'm not telling." Paul said mischievously.

"Paul," Percy whined. "Tell me."

"You sure?"

Percy groaned. Then abruptly stopped and cocked his head. "Is that-?"

Paul nodded meaningfully to Hera and the baby she was holding.

Percy rushed to Hera, bouncing on the balls of his feet, more excitement in one breath than Triton has seen from him in his entire stay, combined, which okay he was sick, but still rude. "Can I hold her? Please. Can I?"

Hera looked startled but she managed to nod and hand her over.

The baby looks to Percy and is even more excited than Sally on seeing her baby boy again had been. She had been passively and sweetly sucking on her…something (what was that? Triton had never seen anything like that before) but then, on seeing Percy, she spits the thing out and shrieks.

She starts kicking and babbling sheer and utter nonsense (was this supposed to be a different language Triton had never heard about) and shrieks and spits in between, hands fisted and waving about as if in anger but looking anything but threatening, eyes big and surprised and happy.

Percy, for his part, looks happier holding the squealing, kicking drooling mess than he ever has before, a smile growing on his face. "Did she really say that?"

"Say what?" Triton asked baffled. All he heard there was nonsense.

"She said my name," Percy said in disbelief, looking awed. He looked at Triton, eyes young, a boyish twinkle in them, smile sheepish and enthusiastic. Triton hurt at the sight.

"I didn't hear it," Triton admitted, walking closer to the two of them so he could share in this moment.

It was so abrupt, like suddenly falling off a cliff, a realization that he wasn't annoyed or irritated with this family. He wasn't afraid they were going to steal away something he liked, that they wouldn't divert Percy's attention from him.

Or rather, when they would, Triton could take it, happily even, if it made Percy smile so silly and carelessly happy and when Triton leaned down to hear the baby try the word, all sloppily and barely managing to say it, his smile is just as bright and genuine too.

It's almost dark then. The rays of the sun are finally back, a little milder and dimmer than before and are now starting to fade, uncaring of the destruction below.

Appropriate, Triton thinks tiredly.

Percy had stood here after the jokes and the smiles and the easy laughter. He had been quiet, still, impassive. He had stared out blankly and Triton knew he wasn't seeing the soft beauty of the flowers or the blue skies, just the ruins beyond it.

Then the army had come in, with tanks and heavy artillery and men in uniforms with serious faces. They had marched, calling out in loud tones, warning the looters and trying to provide safety and security to the scared.

"They won't pull down the people who are only damaging the property," Percy had explained, a quiet intensity in his tone, when Triton had joined him. "They'll let them cool off a little, but also make sure to protect the people caught in the cross-fire."

"Why not?" Triton had asked, just as hushed.

"Why are people out in the streets? Because they're scared, they're afraid and when someone gives them a chance, it comes out as anger and rage. They want to be heard, and if they're stopped before they have a chance to cool down, it won't go away. Just bubble down and wait to be unleashed. That's why democracy is so much better. The system is still rotten, but you can scream and rage all you want. Once this dies down, the army will patrol the streets and march down the houses. Like a way to say, you're all safe now, we're here and we'll take care of you."

"But they can't," Triton pointed out. "They can't kill the diseases or make food or anything."

"Doesn't matter. Sometimes you need to tell yourself a little white lie to get through the day. People don't trust this government but now that it's gotten so bad, it's all they have left to lean on. Churches are all packed. As are the temples and mosques and everything else."

"I know."

"They're just scared," Percy echoed, and he suddenly looks so, so lost, so young standing there and Triton knows that there is more to those words.

"Maybe you just need a good enough lie."

Percy drags up his eyes to his, eyes dim, mouth twisted. "It's all my fault. I was so so stupid. I…I never learn. I'm just dumb-"

"Shut up. Shut up," Triton snarled, voice quiet but furious, startling emotional.

Percy shut up, but Triton didn't say anything more. Just stared at him until Percy walked back to his room, barefoot and subdued.

Triton looked at the closed door, the thrum of _tiredsadgrief_ thrumming through his wrist and straight to his heart. He looked back outside, stared. What could he say or do here, really?

A clang of cup caught his attention.

The step-father, Paul his name was, handed him a cup. Coffee. Triton stared, then shrugged and took a sip. Bitter as always. Bitter like life.

"I always feel guilty enjoying a cup when there are people out there without even one solid meal every day," Paul admitted. "But it's just sitting there in the fridge and no use letting it go to waste now."

"You're under protection," Triton said stiffly. "You and your family and generations ahead shan't have to worry. The gods don't break promises or go back on their word. Besides, Percy will keep an eye out after he ascends. He seems the type."

Paul said nothing for a second, took a sip. Didn't say that that wasn't what he meant. "I still can't believe this life sometimes. Before I met Sally, I could only imagine something like this in my dreams. Now-" He shook his head.

"Look, you look-you're a god, even though you look like a normal guy in his 20s or something," Paul rushed out. "But just, I know I can't and that he's going somewhere none of us can follow, so just, just. Take care of him. Please."

Triton sighed. "I can try. I am trying. It's just-he seems so-"

"Distant?" Paul said knowingly. "He does that when things aren't going his way. He'll shut down, get like that, think about his problems in his own time."

"There is nothing to think about. There are no loopholes to this and trust me, father and I have looked over it for the slightest of leeway. But father is a good negotiator. He'll find a way to make it easy on Percy. Shared custody or something. And Lord Zeus would agree, because what has happened is an embarrassment to the entire pantheon and more so for him because Apollo is his favorite son."

Paul absently noted that Zeus was Lord and Apollo was just Apollo but only Poseidon was father, a close enough familial relation to acknowledge.

"It's not about loopholes. He needs to come to terms with what has happened. As terrible as it is for girls who get married off young, they at least have been expecting it. Percy has the shock factor against him. It'll wear off soon enough." Paul said neutrally. Too neutrally. Not the only one in shock, Triton thought wryly.

"That's not-he blames himself. Ridiculous child. Self-pity and self-blame are such self-centered emotions. He believes he is better than anyone else, that no-one could have been smarter or better than him. He got out-smarted. But he doesn't want to accept that."

Paul doesn't look surprised. "Self-blame is easier to endure than helplessness, I suppose."

Which is so profoundly clever, Triton dumbly stares. Could it be that this fumbling mortal man had a spine and was clever enough too? Wouldn't that be a surprise?

"And Lord-"

"Triton, please," he demurred.

"Triton then," Paul said easily. "He _is_ a child. Try to remember that. He is only 17. He may have a lot of experience in real life matters and he is more mature than most children his age that I meet, but that doesn't magically make him an adult. There are some things only age can gain you and like all children his age, he thinks otherwise. Let him make a few mistakes in his own time. He needs time and space to grow up."

Triton stared out blankly. "Then what am I supposed to do? Just stand aside and let him be?"

"I didn't say that. Be his brother and more importantly, be his friend. Lend him a hand when he needs it. Tell him it's okay when he's scared. He'll never say it but he needs to told he is loved every once a while. When he needs to hear it, tell him you'll stand by him. When he messes up, tell him you'll _always_ stand by him."

"What makes you think I will?"

Paul looked at him, almost amused, that same knowing glance his father and mother and everyone in between had been giving the two of them, "I don't doubt that you will, even if you do. For what it's worth, I have no doubt that he will do the same for you. And two have a millennia to work it out."

Paul walks away too eventually, Estelle up and crying for something or the other. Triton wondered what was wrong with it.

He looked out again and realizes he doesn't need a millennia to figure it out.

He walks back into Percy's room and doesn't feel like an intruder when he mutters for Percy to move and slips in beside him and curls up by his side, perfectly platonic but much stronger than any old romantic relationship he's ever had or probably will ever have.

The pain in his wrist dies down to a soft murmur, still there, not gone, but blissfully quieter for now.

When Triton woke up, it was to Percy sitting by his side, fingering the designs on his own wrist-band. Triton looked at him, noticing his thoughtful look with a sinking heart.

No way was this a good idea.

Percy glanced over and saw him watching. Didn't look surprised. "There's something I have to do. You in or out?"

And even when he _knew_ this wasn't the smartest of his plans, he didn't hesitate. "In."

Like always.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, just been a week but it feels like it's been ages since I came back here. Anyway, I'll rather be updating on Saturday considering my online classes have started. Sadly, still sticking to once a week. And guys, the truth is, I'm losing my motivation. It's happened before (it's a pretty long story) but never for this long and my mental health is hardly at it's peak. I can try and get it up but I'm just using my buffer chapters at this point. I'd really appreciate it if you can suggest a way to overcome this but there is not much to be done if it can't. But I still have a few more chapters to go. Here's to hoping I get back my motivation in that time.

Zeus hadn't been down to his brothers' domain in ages. And he did mean _ages._

Why would he, really? His was clearly the better domain and he would hardly be lowering himself to their silly standards.

But considering the marriage, an unwelcome alliance between the two brothers that Hades would undoubtedly rebel at, it had seemed imperative to come down.

"Brother," Poseidon greeted him, just as grand, just as magnanimous. Zeus felt the familiar curtail of irritation, heightened all the more by being almost powerless in his brother's domain. As the king of gods, he had minimal hold over every domain, but it was laughably weak compared to the one who held the power of the domain.

"Let's get this over with," he grumbled crossly, settling down in his guest throne.

Poseidon smiled back, a flash of teeth that reminded Zeus that of all gods, it's Poseidon who is righteously angry and it's Poseidon who is at his worst in his anger. It would be unwise to poke the bear, so to speak.

"I do not understand what is there to be discussed," Poseidon said, eyes shrewd and sharp.

"Don't play dumb, brother. It doesn't suit you," Zeus said wearily, well aware that it wasn't the truth. His brother could play the part of the fool very well when it suited his purposes. He was hardly egoistical enough to want to brag about his plans. He made for a very dangerous enemy, indeed.

Poseidon waved his hand almost dismissively.

"Where is your heir?" Zeus skirted around the topic.

To his surprise, Poseidon's lips twitched. "Off making trouble, I suspect."

"Triton making trouble?" Zeus didn't even bother to hide his astonishment. Triton was of the sea and nobody could deny his anger was hardly gentle, but he was otherwise the perfect son to Poseidon.

Poseidon had had Triton before Zeus had even married Hera, stuck on one of his many previous wives. And he had tempered him well.

Triton had lived in luxury but had been trained in the Camp with his peers, sleeping in dorms and laboring and eating bland food. He had at the same time been welcomed back to the castle on weekends, being doted and pampered by his loving parents who cared but were nowhere near willing to wave their hands and magic away his problems.

As a result, Triton was sensible and practical, cared deeply but knew when not to let his emotions rule his head.

(Zeus had tried with his own children, but they just never seemed to learn.)

"He is off with Percy, taking a break from his duties." Poseidon said fondly, fatherly adoration brimming in him. "They're both just starting to get along but I suspect that there will be a lot of disruptions and destruction in the near future."

Great. So Poseidon had two worthy sons who actually also got along with each other. And a wife who was calm and cool about his affairs, even suggesting him some ideas in his past romances. Could his brother be any luckier?

He said so. "You, brother, have all the luck in the world," he grumbled.

Poseidon smirked. "It's little to do with luck."

Before Zeus could puzzle out _that_ statement, Poseidon abruptly moves on. "Regardless, say what you need to and get out. I have little patience for you right now."

"The Trials. I just came to make sure you knew to punish him within the parameters of the divine world."

Poseidon's smile turned sharper. "You mean, I can turn him into a mortal and force him into quests. Send him to Tartarus. Even hang him above Chaos' void and force him away from his domains." _Almost make him fade even,_ went unsaid.

Zeus forced himself to not react, trying to keep his posture relaxed and cool. He was a king, an immortal king of the gods, had ruled generations since and would rule generations ahead. He had been kind and soft, cruel and unyielding, and through it all, powerful and eternal.

The dangerous smirk on his brother's face said he had missed his mark on casual and landed somewhere on 'suspiciously too casual'.

"Why, brother, could it be that you care for your wayward son?"

Zeus said nothing, already caught at a disadvantage. He hardly let Poseidon push him about, but this was Poseidon at his worst and Zeus already apologetic and on the back-foot.

If this went wrong, it would be a shame and an embarrassment to the entire pantheon. Oath-breaker was never something he wanted associated with any of them and yet, despite the gods' muttered promises to never cause ill-will to their hero, they were in a quite a pickle.

His first duty should and was to Perseus. He was the victim here, and despite being a mortal, had perhaps for the first time a stronger and bigger standing behind him than an Olympian god did. Most gods, minor and otherwise would choose to side with Percy and rightfully so in this case.

And yet…a father's heart ached for his son to be forgiven too.

Whatsoever his bad habits and dangerous games, he was still Zeus' son, still born of his ichor, still been by his side for an eternity.

As a king, he could never be seen to favor him.

As a father, he wished to wipe the slate clean and give him a new chance.

Poseidon chuckled humorlessly at him, effortlessly reading his poker face through their eons of life together. Zeus resented that too. He could never read Poseidon that effortlessly. Everyone else, yes. But Poseidon was still an enigma to him. Still casually unpredictable.

"Don't you worry, brother. I am not mindlessly cruel. I shan't hang him over Chaos. Or send him to Tartarus. Or even make him a mortal." Poseidon said calmly.

Zeus squinted at him in utter disbelief. Poseidon caught the look and rolled his eyes, "I swear on the River Styx that I shan't do any of the aforementioned things that I swore I wouldn't do."

"You're letting him go free?" Zeus said in surprise. No way had Poseidon gotten too soft to even be able to avenge his youngest.

"I didn't say that either," Poseidon said, idly tapping at his armrest on the throne. "I tire of this conversation," Poseidon interrupted his line of inquiry any further. "It is my decision and my judgement. Do not intervene in my processes."

Zeus bit his tongue sharply, uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was in his brother's court at the height of his power when one of his sons had crossed him badly.

"Tell me. Will Hermes be punished?"

"What for?" Zeus asked wearily.

They both exchanged wry looks. Hermes was a trickster god and was _always_ pulling stunts like this. The question was, was he trying to help or hinder?

Could be that he had made up a trick to get Apollo to give Percy up? Very plausible. Hermes was good at coming up with things and executing them on the spot. But then again, it was equally possible that he had stopped to help out Apollo who was definitely his best friend.

Hermes was so fickle that either was possible. There might be a chance that _both_ were possible. After all, it had helped both sides without hindering either.

And really, there was no point in punishing him. Whatever his intentions, he had managed to help in the end. Whatever Apollo had done, he had done himself without help, long before Hermes had flown in.

Hermes would be getting off scot-free yet again.

Poseidon drummed his fingers in impatience. "If that is all, brother?"

"I want no more to be here than you want me here, brother." Zeus scoffed. "There is still the matter of his domains."

Poseidon looked up, fixing his startling vivid eyes on his. "What domains?"

"Percy's domains," Zeus emphasized. "When he ascends."

"Who told you he will ascend?"

Zeus floundered, off-kilter. "What do you mean, who told me that? When he marries Apollo, he will join him in immortality."

"I don't remember such an agreement. My son swore to marry yours," Poseidon said calmly as if the marriage had been a well thought-out decision on Percy's part. "He never agreed he would give up his mortality. And why should he?"

It's on the tip of his tongue to retort, _because immortality is clearly better._ But he can't. Because it's true, always and forever true but he can just see Percy's reaction to that, that flare of irritation and mild annoyance like he'd just something so wrong that Percy wouldn't even bother to correct it.

"Consider it 'till death do us part, and then they do," Poseidon said calmly. "Maybe two more life-times if he needs a chance to make for Isles of the Blest, but I doubt it. If I'm not mistaken, he is en route to his Paradise of choice."

Which was just _great._ Another doomed love story for his son.

Zeus clenched and then unclenched his fists. He wanted to argue, but there was no point in it, he wanted to use force but he couldn't risk a rebellion. He was a by-stander to the inevitability of yet another tragedy.

Triton climbed over another stone from yet another half-collapsed building. "I hope this was worth it." He grumbled, then looked back and made a face again.

"It makes me happy," Percy defended himself.

 _Good enough for me,_ Triton thought and they were now close enough, accepting enough that Percy caught the gist of it without it being said, giving him a soft, genuine smile. Triton didn't have to look to know the nuances of that smile.

"We can teleport home," and Triton is surprised that it comes out like that: home. It's not like he thought of this place like his home; his home is and will always be his extravagant room and the grandiose palace and the mysterious entrenching sea.

And it's not like he likes the mortal family _that_ much. He likes them, yes but. But, something he couldn't put a finger on yet. Like maybe it was fun doing something so out of the norm for him with someone he loves and trusts.

"I have to do something first," Percy implored him.

"I keep doing you favors," Triton pointed out.

"You really do. But I have nothing to give you anyway," Percy said uncomfortably.

Triton stopped and seriously thought it over. "I'll tell you when I figure it out."

Percy narrowed his eyes, then shrugged. It was already too late to worry and silly as it may sound, he trusted Triton. Blindly and faithfully, no matter how short a time it had been, he felt like he could rely on Triton, a solid figure to look after him.

"But you're telling dad what happened," Triton said, jumping down another pile of debris. "And mother. I wash my hands off this matter now."

Percy gave him a perplexed look. "Why would they care? They're gods. I'm sure they've seen worse."

Triton looked doubtfully to his little brother. "Well, if you think so, you deal with it."

Percy shrugs. "Sure." Triton had to be just over-reacting. Besides, he thought it looked awesome.

It was not alright.

Paul gave him a thumbs-up from behind while his mom shrieked. Then calmed herself. Hera hadn't been around for awhile but materialized at the distressed shriek.

She cringed when she looked at Percy too.

"You're all too old to appreciate this," Percy grumbled. "I look fantastic."

Sally tried for a smile. "If it makes you happy, dear," she said. She was trying too hard. But Percy needed them to. He was going to burst if they weren't on his side here.

"Well, I think it looks wonderful," Paul beamed, honestly. "It's very bold. Very you."

Percy smiled back at him. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He ran a hand through his hair. "It's color changing dye. It changes to my moods."

"It changes according to your surroundings and a number of other factors," Triton corrected. Percy ignored him.

He walked over to the mirror and preened over himself. A cascade of hues of orange and flaming red and mild purples and soft blues peered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really guys, please comment. I think I really need it at this point. And while I usually love to get constructive criticism, please, none of that right now.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind. Blown. The support and love I got for the previous chapter was amazing. You guys are the best. I'm gonna get stupidly sentimental here and just say that when I started this, I never planned beyond 3 chapters. Now I'm at 20 chapters, have posted over 55k words, way beyond what I believed I ever could, surrounded by the most supportive and understanding people and it...it means everything. Just so you guys feel it, your support guided me to finish a half-written chapter and made me write half of another. Not even half as much as I could write before, but it was all you guys that made me write all I did. Thanks so much.
> 
> Amazingly, I feel better too. Meditation has worked wonders among the other things and your support has only accelerated the process. Feel free to push at me a little, but please don't be abusive or flame me or try to work off our frustrations here. Feel free to give constructive criticism, feel free to push at me a little to write more, but do it in a humane way. This story belongs to us all, I feel, even though I'm the one writing it. Feel free to join in when you want to.

"I know what I want," Triton decided as he threw himself on the bed in which Percy was sleeping.

He should probably wait but Percy was _always_ sleeping nowadays, it seemed. He slept even more than Estelle and he had been told that human children slept a lot.

(It had blown his mind. There was nothing wrong with Estelle. Human children were really that fragile and helpless for _years._ )

Percy stirred and opened his eyes. He didn't look groggy or anything, more alert and awake. Then again, he was sleeping more than he needed to. "What?" he asked.

"I know what I want," Triton repeated slowly.

"Okay," Percy got up, rubbing his eyes. He didn't look or feel good. The rotten feelings made Triton low-key miserable too. "What do you want?"

"Some of my duties are boring and I hate them. Help me with them for a little while." Triton said unceremoniously.

"How long is a little while? Because we have very different ideas on time." Percy asked, settling down cross-legged.

"A few decades?" Triton suggested.

Percy gaped in disbelief. Before he could voice his protests, Triton elaborated. "A favor must be re-payed back in full and even Apollo can't interfere with that, even after you get married."

Oh, a way out when they needed it. Triton could load off his duties and Percy could escape as and when he finished. Win-win-lose. Lose for Apollo, that is.

They grinned at each other, perfectly and deviously in sync.

Despite Poseidon's casual _how bad could it be really,_ Zeus startled at the rainbow hair. Poseidon was unfazed.

"Looks good on you, I think," he casually praised Percy. Percy beamed back. Triton rolled his eyes. It looked cool, he would privately admit to himself, but the best part was definitely other people's reactions.

"Race you," Triton said and easily ran past them all and with one flip, turned back to a merman and dived in. Percy didn't hesitate to chase after him.

"Percy wanted to try it," the lady, Percy's mom, offered, "and we thought that with everything, we should let him." She looked somber, but she still had Percy's fire in her eyes.

Poseidon nodded, "It's alright. Hardly the worst he could be doing. Thank you for taking care of him." He turned to leave, but Sally called after him again.

"Look after him," she implored. "Please."

Poseidon finally smiled. "Of course. To the best of my abilities. He's family now."

Sally looked relieved, letting go and stepping back to the comfort of her new family. Despite himself, Zeus liked that she had a new family. She wouldn't interfere in theirs.

Of course, if they wanted, they could take Percy away. But you can't have someone who doesn't want to stay.

And with the way, Percy clung to Triton, he might just want to stay after all.

The way in, Percy got the best surprise of them all. He had certainly been expecting a new room. But before he could enter, a huge 7-foot bulked up muscle picked him up and squeezed.

"Tyson," Percy managed to wheeze, turning an unnatural shade of blue (which really went with the color of his hair, Triton decided idly.)

"Let go," Triton said, carelessly authoritative. Tyson let go and shrieked in happiness, "BROTHER!" He boomed.

Percy winced. Great, he thought, there go my eardrums.

"Hey, Tyson," Percy said weakly, unable to keep himself from smiling at the infectious enthusiasm. But inside, he felt cold. He had not asked after Tyson, not even after he had gotten better. And he did not want to see Tyson.

He had not even wanted to see his own family, and he would not have if he had been sure they were safe and content. He didn't want _anybody_ to see him like this.

He felt cold, ashamed. Out of 8 billion people on Earth, only one had been trapped by a god and been the cause of death of hundreds of thousands of people, and a decline in lifestyle and happiness and the dramatic collapse of the economic system.

And he especially didn't want Tyson's enthusiasm tainted with his fate. Tyson for his part, seemed blissfully ignorant. He didn't ask after his marriage or chaos on the surface, or even his hair (which really had seemed almost impossible to miss).

"Come, brother," he said energetically. "Your new room,"

Percy laughed, actually laughed, more in relief than happiness, their hands holding onto each other like little kids dragging each other. Percy was thankful for his brother's naivety.

Triton followed at a more sedate pace. He seemed reserved, calm, the perfect heir, the stoic commander. Percy turned back and they exchanged an amused, knowing glance, before Tyson enthusiastically made him look back again.

Percy understood the quiet message; Triton here was Tyson's commander before he was his brother. There were hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Poseidon's kin serving him; Triton could not show favoritism if they were in his employ.

Percy for his part, curled his hand around Tyson's and let his mindless chatter calm him down.

Tyson talked and distracted him for about an hour, he showed him around the forges and generally helped him forget all that had happened.

Triton who had left them both to their own devices, stumbled onto them then, almost an hour later, and looked surprised.

"Tyson," he said calmly, the same steel authority in his tone. "If I'm not mistaken, the forge master had been looking for you."

Tyson looked up, sheepishly. "I go back soon," he promised.

Triton hesitated for a split second, torn between his duties as a heir and his obligations as a brother. On one hand, he didn't want to alienate Percy over something this mild; on the other, his bias would probably be misconstrued, others in his employ would hardly understand his reasoning.

He could show favoritism to Percy; it was hardly a secret that he was his father's favorite and besides, he wasn't under Triton's employ, he was here as an equal, a brother. Tyson just didn't have the same protection. Most took care of Tyson because he was so young, hardly a few decades old, but Triton's bias could sour a working relation. And Triton had his own life, his own duties; he could not baby-sit Tyson all the time.

Percy caught his eyes, gently said, "I wouldn't want to get you in trouble, Tyson. I think you should go."

Tyson faltered, his face turning morose. "But I not show brother his room yet."

"I'll wait until you get back," Percy suggested.

That didn't seem to calm Tyson any. Triton caught the hesitation for what it was though. "I'll accompany Percy to his rooms. You needn't worry."

Tyson peered carefully to Triton, his one eye wide and hopeful. "Promise?"

Triton smiled faintly despite himself. "Of course. I promise."

Tyson nodded seriously, then carefully let go of Percy's hand. Percy curled, then uncurled his fingers to let his blood circulate. He was surprised that it hurt much less than it ever did. Tyson didn't know his own strength and minor injuries and pains around him were common.

Percy never complained though. Tyson was too much of a sweetheart and he wasn't doing it on purpose. But now, despite getting bigger, bulkier, stronger, he was gentler, more careful with Percy.

Tyson gave him one last hug and a careful, assessing, surprisingly calculating glance. Then he nodded to Triton and swam away.

Percy stared at Tyson's back and ached at all he had missed, but proud at how much Tyson seemed to have grown.

Then Triton tugged at his hand and they ran in to the lavish room. Triton immediately chocked, hastily turning to human form. Even Percy stumbled gracelessly, catching himself at the very last second.

The room was air. Right smack down in the depths of the seas, the room was all air and no water. Percy looked to the door, a simple doorway marking the difference between his room and the rest of the ocean.

A simple, thoughtful and very real understanding that Percy was human and they were willing to accept that difference even as they didn't treat him any different for it.

The bedroom in itself was lavish. The roof was patterned and designed, the walls were textured mild colors, there were 5 different types of lights for his different moods and blinds over bay windows and a huge patio door that opened out to the sights of the kingdom down below.

There was also a gym with weights and tread-mills and mats and all the other fancy equipment Percy could ever want or need for.

As if that weren't enough, he had a _room for clothes._ A drawer for scarfs, a revolving _thing_ for shoes, hangars and drawers. "I won't have enough clothes to fill this in a life-time," Percy said in disbelief.

"We can buy more. Whatever you need or want," Triton assured him carelessly.

"I don't need to fill out this many. That would just be a waste," Percy rolled his eyes. "Grover would-" He tamped down, let the words hang, turning around to look at the center table. It looked carelessly expensive, made of what looked like crushed glass with many small cracks and stones in a way that made it look elegant.

"Why don't you want to go back?" Triton wondered aloud. Earlier, he had diverted Percy's attention away from his friends and family. And yet, it hadn't worked.

Percy had been willing to hike his way to see his family, even through a disaster-land. He could have done the same for his friends at CHB if he so wished. Or CJ.

"I asked Aunt Hera. She's pretty cool now," Percy explained. "Anyway, she said the camps had been locked down. They're all safe and well-fed. Scared, maybe. Angry, definitely. But otherwise okay."

"Yes, but that still doesn't explain why you don't want to see them."

Percy pursed his lips. "They wouldn't-forget it."

"You're afraid of how they'd react," Triton realized.

"I don't want to talk to them," Percy said hollowly. "Not yet. They're safe, they don't need me yet and-"

"It's okay. I understand." Triton lied. He didn't understand at all. What sort of friends were they that Percy was afraid to even talk to them in such hard times?

"No, wait, I have to explain this properly." Percy said, seamlessly picking on Triton's lies. "It's just, they are so-" Percy held out his hands, trying to find the right words to explain.

"How do I put this? They're very passionate. They'd over-react and play it up and get out their weapons, threaten to march down to Olympus. If not, they'd still be talking it up like it's a big deal. They'd start talking about how it's end times and how many people are suffering and how it's so typical of a god to do that. And the rest would talk about it behind my back.

They probably still are, but at least I don't have to see their faces while they're doing it. They'll all have their opinions and they'll want to talk about it. I mean, they'll all be on my side, don't get me wrong. But I don't want to make it out to be a big deal. I already know it's a big deal, I don't want them to add to my panic. I'm already falling apart. I need people around me to be calm and cool."

"You're doing just fine," Triton said dismissively.

"See?" Percy beamed at him. "That's how we make a great team."

And without needing words, Percy dragged Triton out, just knowing how much he missed water, so easily and viscerally that he didn't even register the sub-conscious action.

When Poseidon came back to the throne room, he was surprised to find both his sons there, heads bowed, locked in a quiet serious discussion.

"What are you two doing?" Poseidon raised an eye-brow.

"Loading off my boring work-load to Percy," Triton said cheerfully, shamelessly.

"It's not that bad," Percy said in bemusement. "It's actually quite interesting."

Poseidon wondered if he should intervene. But Percy wasn't supposed to be treated like a guest here, and if Triton accepted him as his brother, it would hardly be a polite, distant relationship.

If Poseidon knew himself and consequently his sons at all, they would be fighting and tripping over each other's feet, shamelessly trying to one-up the other, all the while knowing that no matter what, they had each others backs.

The Big Three had that sort of quiet brotherly love.

But Percy and Triton seemed closer. Not just brothers. Friends. Best friends, even. They had fought, screamed at each other and they had fallen back in. Seamlessly. In no time at all.

The Big Three fought too, but they didn't fall back that easily; they were cruel in their anger, had long memories. Their disputes often lasted years, decades even, killed thousands, ruined the lives of millions of creatures.

Poseidon smiled a little, distant, not jealous but envious of their easy bond. He had tried so hard with his brothers and here his sons had fallen in without effort or trial.

They didn't continue what they were discussing before, didn't ask for his wisdom, just looked at him expectantly, waited for him to _leave._

They had only just met and yet, it had been so easy for them to reach out for each other and hold on and shut the world out.

Poseidon felt sorrow, nostalgia at the thought of something he could never have, but felt soft adoration and fondness that his sons still could. He inclined his head and told them to play nice.

Triton solemnly nodded, always the serious one and Percy grinned, a shy almost sheepish troublemaker smile. As Poseidon swam away, he heard them both burst into laughter.

He stubbornly does not look back.

Percy tugged Triton back to his room. Triton's room, that is. Not his.

Triton was already pushing it, being as far away from water as he was for so long. More so than he had done in several centuries. Combined.

And Percy didn't mind being in the water for extended periods of time. And there was also his bedroom for when he was pushing it.

"Why are we going there?" Triton asked with a sigh.

"Because I am going to ask you lots of stupid questions and I don't want anyone else laughing at me," Percy said, waving a hand.

"I will laugh at you," Triton said, curling his lips in reluctant amusement. His sharp teeth made it a threatening gesture to any human that is not Percy.

"I expect little else," Percy assured him, almost formally. Triton bit back a smile, wondered if Percy caught his own wording. "But who will you tell?"

"I can tell my own friends," Triton challenged, not actually meaning it. The sort of mistakes he would make would have his kingdom in pitchforks in minutes, Triton just knew it. "They'll spread the word to the entirety of the kingdom. Everyone will know within days."

"Friends?" Percy asked sharply, narrowing his eyes to Triton. "How come I never met them?"

"We only just met a few days ago. Why would I tell you anything?" Triton shot back, viciously pleased at the hurt. Tit for tat.

Percy frowned at him, then abruptly changed directions.

"Where are you going? My room is that way." Triton asked, confused.

"I don't want to talk to you," Percy shot back, shaky and upset. Shit.

"Aw, c'mon, Percy. Don't be such a baby." Triton goaded.

Percy stomped over to his room, turning around to snarl at Triton, which on a human just looked more adorable than scary. The glistening eyes though threw Triton off. "Like I want to see your stupid face everyday anyway," Percy shot back at him, slamming the door behind him. Hard.

_Be patient with him. He's only just a child yet._

Triton swiped his hand over his forehead and resisted the urge to groan.

"C'mon, Percy, either you open up or I'm coming in," Triton knocked. Percy growled.

_Second verse, same as the first._

That stopped Triton from barging in like last time. "Do you know how many people I knew at my camp the first time I got out of this palace?"

There was no answer but Percy was too young, too impulsive, too curious to not want to hear and Triton could almost feel that flicker of interest, the tilt of his head.

"There were 30 of us. Hated that place at first. I mean, I was being demoted from palace to bunk-beds and eating stupid seaweed." A flicker of amusement before Percy tamps it down. It gives Triton the courage to continue.

"There were 30 of us and I lived with them and ate with them and slept with them but none of them were my brother. And I never called them as such."

There is a tentative silence. Then, "The door is open."

That is as much an invitation as he is going to get.

He braces himself, turns back human and walks in. Percy is on his bed, holding his Bluey close. Triton's gut churns at the tears on his cheek.

"That was nothing to cry about. C'mon, you're not crying over me, are you?"

"As if I'd cry over your stupid face," Percy said, no venom in his tone. "I just-" He took a ragged breath. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

Triton panicked, bending to look him straight in the eye. "Did you catch one of those diseases going around?" That was just what Triton needed.

"No," Percy said, squeezing his Bluey closer. If Bluey was sentient, he would have choked. "I just feel really," he choked. "I just want to cry."

Triton didn't hesitate. He put his hand to the back of Percy's neck and pulled him down to his chest, Bluey and all. "It's okay. Do what you have to."

And Percy curled up on his lap and shamelessly and un-repentantly cried.

Percy rolled over and touched Triton's hand, tugging on it. He didn't much care when Triton changed forms but this, his human form, was comforting in his soft vulnerability even when Triton was anything but.

"Thanks," Percy said hesitantly, not looking Triton in the eye. But really, what was he supposed to say? Crying was nothing shameful, but it felt like that was all he did nowadays. When he wasn't looking the destruction of his life and those he had brought on down with him, that is.

Triton tugged at him, tucking him under his chin in a semblance of a hug. "It's alright, brother. Eventually this hurting will end too."

Tears prickled his eyes again but he swallowed them down. That was enough for a few months. At least.

"Why are you here?" Percy asked miserably.

"Because you ran away from me?" Triton said, confused, putting some distance between them.

"No, I mean, why are you staying on my side? You don't need my help."

Percy knew all about that. Camp Half-Blood had spat in his face, but welcomed him back after his first successful quest. Poseidon had rejected him but called him his favorite when he had fought in his name. Camp Jupiter had repelled at the idea of a son of Neptune but had raised him on their shields when he had saved the Camp.

And yet, what had he done for Triton? Cried on his shirt and thrown tantrums.

"You are my brother. You don't have to be an asset to me." Triton said quietly.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. Sadly, I'm very busy and shall be for the foreseeable future. Updates may not be as regular but this story will be updated and finished, so please be patient. And I've had a few people ask for more Apollo screen-time. I get that. But I have to move this story ahead as well, and that means less Apollo time. For now. He is a major character and will be back for more, with more time and more frequency. Again, I ask you to be patient and hold on for this ride. Without further ado, enjoy!

Percy is sleeping, like _always_ , when Triton uncurls and walks over to the bags that they had brought from Percy's childhood home.

Percy didn't have much, which had made Triton purse his lips and tamp down on his feelings lest Percy pick them up. Percy had looked at him, but subsided without saying a word.

There are a few shirts, two pairs of jeans, aside from of course all the stuff he already had here from New Rome. As he is rummaging through, a piece of paper falls through.

Triton picked it up. There were numbers scribbled down in Percy's hurried hand-writing, and a name at the end. Triton tilted his head and tried to read the near illegible writing.

"J-Jon-Jonathan," Triton finally realized. Who in the Hades was Jonathan?

"Percy," Triton called out. Percy rolled over and peered at him. He waved the paper. "Who is Jonathan?"

Percy waved at him impatiently to hand it over. "Thanks for reminding me. That's my friend."

"Friend?" Triton asked flatly. But he wasn't really jealous anymore, more amused. The drama yesterday had certainly cemented their relationship and they would probably laugh and joke about it in a few months.

Percy grinned back, catching the amusement in his tone. "We were friends a couple of schools back. We caught up a few weeks ago and he asked me to call. But when I did call, he didn't pick up and then all of this happened, and it just sort of slipped."

"Is he that important to you?" That Percy would remember to reconnect with a friend at a time like this.

"No. Yes. I don't-Last time we met, Apollo was acting weird and I admitted we had dated once. It's silly but I just want to check up on him. I mean, not like Apollo would hurt an innocent just because, right?"

Triton deflected a little. "You should come to my room now. I tire of this form."

Percy got up and immediately made his way over. Triton followed, a bit more hesitantly, gut churning. There was no way everything was okay here. None at all.

Percy was already on his phone when Triton made his way over, choked at the very thought. There was urgent whispering, serious words. Triton busied himself, looking out blankly.

Any time now, there will be a ton of emotions crashing down on him, there will be tears and shouting and screaming and Triton was so so tired.

Percy really was young. He had passionate emotions and they swung like a pendulum from fierce joy to depressed grief. Age should mature him, teach him how to handle such emotions, dampen the ferocity of his thoughts.

But for now, Triton was in charge of a child that absolutely nobody seemed to treat as such. It seemed that everybody had just decided that fighting two wars meant instant maturity and he was tasked with the impossible task of managing it all.

He really really needed to have a talk with his father. A serious discussion between two grown-ups. If he had decided to bring a child in, he needed to be equally responsible for it.

But Percy didn't fall apart this time. Just looked blankly at his phone. When Triton turned around to face him, Percy didn't look up. Just said, "I want him to pay. I just need him to pay for it. And I want him to regret ever crossing my path and looking at me wrong. I will make him regret it even if it's the last thing I ever do."

Triton sighed. "I'm in."

Percy startled as if surprised. "No, I can't let you."

"Why not?" Triton asked, honestly taken aback.

"Because my parents are under protection and the demigods are all safe too. And I'm mortal. There's only so much he can do to me. But you're immortal. You'll have to live with this forever."

His gut clenched at the idea of living forever and Percy not doing so. "I'm under protection too. Besides," he added, before Percy could protest. "You know the best way to drive him insane is to get your fill and get away with it too. Mutual destruction is never worth it."

Percy wavered. "But only if you don't get caught."

Triton winked. "I never have in all of these years. Now, we need to start with you taking over my duties. The more it interferes with your dates, the better. Act aloof, disinterested. But get his hopes up every once a while, just so you can pull them down. Even little things add up over time. Let's start slow."

Percy nodded slow, looking resigned. "Does this mean-?"

"Yes," Triton smiled and sat down expectantly, as Percy groaned. "Politics and history and geography. You can't help me without knowing the kingdom."

Percy sat down cross-legged floating a little in mid-water. "Let's get started."

"Of course, all sea-dwelling creatures are invited in our kingdom-"

"Peace-loving," Percy intruded.

"I'm sorry?"

"All peace-loving creatures are invited."

"No," Triton disagreed. "All creatures are invited. Okay, um, you know sharks, right? Right. So say, a shark comes here. We can't forbid it from feeding, even if it's feed is other living creatures. How can you forbid a creature to eat?"

"But what about the fish the shark does eat?"

"That's just how the world works." Triton said softly. "Nothing to be done about that."

Percy nodded mutely, motioning for him to go.

Triton hesitated, but went on. "There are two prominent groups living here in this kingdom and are what you'd call on the surface as mermen. Terrible name, really. I hate it. I prefer Triton."

Percy burst out laughing. "Vain much?"

Triton rolled his eyes, undoubtedly feeding his own amusement to Percy. "Well, yes. I am that awesome." Percy is too busy giggling to notice. Triton looked down to see Percy rolling about sternly.

"That's about enough, I think."

"Nowhere near enough," Percy gasped. It took him a few seconds but Percy got back up, still giggling lightly.

"Anyway, we have icthyocentaurs: mermen with horse's forelegs in place of arms. And then we have Tritons. Both live in peace, but not in harmony. They have an uneasy alliance with each other, but neither are very fond of the other."

"Why not?"

"Lots of history there. But you can't say this in the surface world. Not even to your friends. These are secrets of the depths and nobody from other worlds should hear about this. Not even Apollo, if you get married."

Percy sobered and looked seriously to Triton, understanding just what it meant that Triton was telling him all of this without even needing to, just for the sake of helping him. "I swear on the River Styx."

Triton half-smiled, his teeth all on display. Percy found it strangely comforting. "You didn't have to do that."

"Just in case." Percy smiled.

Triton continued, significantly more cheerful. "There are several wars fought and won. And besides, their interpretation of religion is a little different in either case. Tritons traditionally have dolphin tails. One tail that looks diverging into two. Icthyocentaurs have two tails, diverging from the very base.

It's a long standing debate. Tritons believe themselves to be superior because dolphins are our father's favorites. Besides, Delphin is Father's right hand man, so to say. Icthyocentaurs point out they are two-tailed from the very base, while Tritons only diverge from the lower middle, obviously meaning they are superior. Usually at this point, the two are too busy screaming to really mind much what the other is saying."

Percy shook his head in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

Triton looked down disapprovingly at Percy. "Don't make light of this. This is the kingdom's history and back-bone and while I am obviously lenient with you, there are some who will tie you up and beat you to death for it."

Percy shrunk down, shoulders hunched and eyes wide, chastised.

Triton didn't relent for a moment, but then again, how was Percy to know what it meant to them? Finally he toned it down, but didn't apologize. "Of course, we have several more types of species. But usually you'll find Tritons and Icthyocentaurs around you. If you see something else, don't ogle or make fun. We'll discuss them all in time as they come up, considering there are so many and your chances of meeting them are less. Now-"

"Triton, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Percy interrupted the formal lecture. He just couldn't stand the coldness in Triton's eyes.

Triton looked him in the eye seriously, then finally sighed. "A few millennia back, tension between the Tritons and Icthyocentaurs flared up. It…it was bad. Violent. There were riots. Opposite sides killed each other without abandon, irrespective of age, gender or vulnerability. Corpses littered the streets of my kingdom. They'd string up some of those on the opposite side to mark their territory. On trees and buildings and their places of worship as trophies, all as a show of strength. There was little I could do.

I am a ruler, but I am also a god. I have to stay within my restrictions, let them make their own mistakes, learn their own lessons. All I could do was watch my kingdom fall apart. The army was alerted and they wrangled most into their homes and some violent ones to custody. Implemented a curfew to let them all cool down a little. Curfew helped cool them down but some died due to lack of medical intervention. A necessary sacrifice at the end for the sake of the rest.

We found out later it was an enemy of Father's who had provoked the attack. Led what was once an uneasy alliance to a horrid blood-bath." Triton breathed in raggedly, "Of course, we have measures in place now to avoid it getting to such extremes. There have been a few crimes of passion but we never let it get that far."

He breathed in raggedly, shrugging off the arm on his shoulder. "I have no words to explain what it was like to live through that." Percy shifted on the bed, supporting his weight on his knees, hugging Triton sideways. Triton curled a hand around Percy's shoulder, steadying him in place.

Triton looked at his wall blankly, coldly distant. "There was a woman among the dead. A pregnant nymph, almost on the verge of her due date."

"That's terrible. Two lives were lost at once."

"No, no. I managed to save my daughter," Triton choked, sobbing, hand on his face, rocking gently. Percy held him tight despite his shock, swallowing the despair in his throat.

"I mean, not that it made much of a difference when I let her die barely a century later." Triton added, voice even thicker than normal with tears.

Percy rested his forehead on Triton's shoulder, feeling him shake a little.

They stayed there silently, mourning something so impossible, so profound they had no words.

"I have never talked of this," Triton finally confessed. "Of course, Mother and Father knew but I never had to say it and I never told my daughter and I could never tell my subjects. They're just settled in an uneasy alliance and Tritons would have yet another cause of hatred for Icthyocentaurs."

"I understand," Percy said softly.

Triton made sure to make eye-contact. His eyes were an unsettling red. "I mean it, Percy. Do not talk of this. Not for any reason."

"Swear on the Styx," Percy promised. Triton relaxed.

"So, you're a Triton," Percy said. Triton had one tail, and one could say it was splitting down the bottom in a way.

Triton shook his head. "I'm a-" and said something far beyond the scope of modern English. Percy looked blank. Triton elaborated. "I don't know if you have a word for it, my knowledge of your world is a little lacking in places. But essentially, I can change forms."

"Yeah, all gods can change forms, right?"

"No," Triton made a sound of frustration. "I mean, yes, they can change forms. But I can change them halfway. Like, I can be a human with dolphin's tail, horse's arms and wings out my back."

Percy bit back his amusement. He would _not_ laugh. This was serious and he had already been scolded once.

Triton felt a pang for Percy. He might have been a tad harsh. Sure, Percy had been insensitive, but only unknowingly and Triton had to remind himself that he was still a child. He was quietly grateful for Paul and his surprising understanding into Percy's psyche. Who knew a mortal's words would have been so invaluable to him?

Triton flashed an amused smile. "It's okay. You can laugh."

Percy looked at him with wide eyes, guiltily. "I wasn't gonna. I swear."

Triton let it be. He wasn't in the mood to address this right now. Besides, better let Percy be careful with that callous humor than sorry.

"Yes, well. That's Father's gift to me, I suppose."

"Dad can do that too?"

"Yes, of course. He is very skilled, very talented. I could only ever hope to be half the god that he is." Triton muttered. There was still that hero-worship in him. Bumps on the road aside, they had a pretty good relationship.

Triton got up, "Now, I need to manage some of my duties. I have been neglecting them for far too long."

Percy nodded. "Triton?" Percy said tentatively. Triton turned around. Percy was chewing at his bottom lip in thoughtful contemplation.

"I'd be lucky to be half as good as you are too. Just so you know."

Triton felt warm and walked out, hiding his smile. He didn't need to show him his smile to share in each other's contentment.

He traced the carvings on his wrist-band.

Best gift ever.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, readers, time to make a decision! I'm starting to lose interest in this story, which I think is fairly obvious. But I don't want to leave you all with a bunch of doubts and questions and tons of frustration. I could tell you how it goes, but it's no fun like that, is it? So, there are two things that I can do here. First is that I finish and wrap up this story ASAP. It won't be a hurried ending, but it will be a hopeful one without tying up the loose ends. No redemption arc though. Hints of redemption peeking through though. Second is that, I put this story on hiatus after posting all the chapters I have in backlog. There are still 3-4 chapters there. But I legit think that'll leave you with more doubts than I solve and then I have no clue when I'll be back. Please review and make your choice known. I'd willing to work with you all there.

Percy was sitting in a fancy chair (read: throne which Percy steadily ignored) in Triton's room, leafing through the paper-work, looking calm and thoughtful but mentally cursing out Triton. Triton felt amused.

Why did he get all the worst kind of work?

Of course, he couldn't pass out judgement on cases. He was younger than most of them and besides, they were busy arguing over one tail and two tails and he had none.

So of course, he was tasked with reviewing petitions. Naturally, Triton couldn't blindly trust his judgement on every case, but he was tasked with making suggestions and Triton would explain the possible ramifications of every suggestion.

The words were thankfully not English. Not Greek either though. It was something else entirely. But it had words borrowed from Mycenaean Greek or maybe that dialect had words borrowed from here.

Either way, it was a starting point.

Mycenaean Greek wasn't something that came easy to Percy either. It was the oldest of all Greek dialects and Percy suspected this was even older.

His only saving grace was that he had a natural, or perhaps an unnatural affinity for the language. But aside from that, he had little help. Triton had cited his duties and ran off.

Their wrist bands still held them close. They couldn't, shouldn't be able to share thoughts but that felt like such a mild barrier, like they could break through it if they just wanted to. They could communicate almost as easily as if they were standing by each other.

He flipped another page, trying to ignore his building headache. This was important, more important than school even. Not just to Triton, but also as a way to stay away from Apollo.

Someone knocked on the door, a couple of raps, polite and not too loud. Percy looked up, narrowed his eyes. Triton perked to attention, but neither of them was too worried. They were both on edge but Percy hardly had to fear a physical assault.

"Come in," Percy called out, firmly closing the file. No need to leak information.

Poseidon came in, smiled that trouble-maker smile on him. Now Percy knew why every teacher always looked at him so warily. His lips automatically smiled back. It was a very contagious smile. Now he also knew how he got away with things he had no business getting out of.

"Hey, dad. Haven't seen you around in a while."

Poseidon gave him an exaggerated look of exasperation, almost pouting. "I was so busy. Triton unloaded all his duties on me."

Percy can't help it; he laughs.

Percy looks back to see Poseidon smiling wide, fondly at him. "I love to hear that laugh, baby."

Percy shied a little, but still smiled back because it was impossible not to.

"I have someone who wants to meet you," Poseidon said, still smiling.

"Ugh," Percy groaned. "If it's Apollo, tell him to shove it." Then belatedly realized that this was his _dad_ he was talking to. "I mean-"

"We'll work on that language," Poseidon decided. "But no, it's your uncle Zeus."

Percy bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh. _Uncle Zeus?_ Poseidon had to be goading his brother. Poseidon caught his eyes, shared his amusement.

Zeus walked through the door, looking perplexed at their laughing. "Did I miss anything?" Percy shook his head, still laughing. Poseidon winked at him.

"Was there something you guys wanted?" Percy asked sending a longing glance to the bed. If he was in bed, there would be no drama and no more bad news.

"We came to talk to you about your recent engagement," Zeus said formally.

Percy cursed Apollo under his breath. That guy had ruined his life, so many times over.

Both Zeus and Poseidon looked at him with identical looks of disapproval.

Percy spread his hands wide. "I'm 17. I'm old enough to curse now," he puts in enough petulance that it does not feel like he's old enough, not really. The withering looks sent his way certainly did not help.

Percy cleared his throat, clutched at the file in his hand awkwardly, "Moving on," he emphasized. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"What's that in your hands?" Zeus asked intently, ignoring his question.

"Study material," Percy said with a grimace. "I thought this would like a vacation, but stupid Triton is already hanging off my neck." The words were sour on his tongue; Triton was being made the bad guy for doing him good, but the less people who get in on this scheme, the better; Triton and he had both agreed.

"Is he bullying you?" Zeus asked.

"No," Percy said, unable to help the defensive tone creeping in his tone, even as he realized that it served no purpose, could only hinder instead of helping. "Triton is cool. I'm just repaying back a debt."

"What debt?"

He reddened. The idea of telling anyone, especially someone so powerful, so removed from humanity, just how low he'd fallen was humiliating. "That's between me and him." He said evenly.

Zeus' eyes narrowed. Poseidon's face was that impassive cool mask he could never read.

"This isn't your room," Zeus said, turning around suspiciously.

Percy wasn't sure it was a question but he answered anyway. "No, it's Triton's."

"How did you get in here?" Zeus asked. "And why are you here?"

Percy bristled despite telling himself _don't get defensive; defensive people look guilty_ and besides, when he was defensive, he was too off-kilter to be able to be rational. And yet, even though he didn't know what Zeus was trying to imply, it rankled him wrong.

He didn't understand his own reaction here; he hadn't commanded numerous battles and won two wars by being blindly, foolishly sentimental. He didn't trust that easily; even the people he liked and had fought by his side did not have his unconditional trust. (Not all of them did anyway.)

He knew how to play people and situations to his advantage; gods, did he. And Triton was hardly the first shoulder he had cried on. Tears had a way of binding people together; sharing his sorrows and tragedy made the other person feel closer to him than they actually were, and it had the added bonus of making him feel lighter, better; so why not. Two birds with one stone.

_Because manipulation was only evil if it were used for nefarious purposes, and subtle as his methods were, they hardly counted._

But despite everything, he had trusted Triton. Long before he had any reason or cause to. And Triton had bizzarely indulged him. Gone up to the surface that he had avoided for centuries; shared a trauma that he hadn't spoken of for millennia; tolerated his moods like he never had before.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" he demanded of Zeus. "I am allowed here."

Zeus' eyes narrowed. Percy couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Allowed here? Why?"

"Why not? We are brothers. Which means that I have a right to all that is his and he has a right to my stuff. And when one of us doesn't want the other to touch his stuff, we settle that with fists." And then unthinkingly, defensively (or maybe, just maybe subconsciously wanting to twist in a knife) he added, "You don't have brothers, do you?"

He clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide looking between the two. Both looked too stunned to say much. Percy doubted it would last long. He didn't know what sort of bond the three brothers shared, but he doubted it was a good idea to insult it anyway.

"I'm outta here," he decided before they could snap out of it and ran for the door (picking up the file as he went; after all, he had promised not to share what he'd learned with anyone), sending Triton a distress signal as he went. They _so_ needed a good hiding place.

* * *

Poseidon shook his head, trying to clear off that sharp fog of crisp anger and sudden bewildered irritation. He had seen Percy getting defensive, had known nothing good ever happened when a child of the seas lost control of that infamous temper.

But it was like the train wreck that you were too transfixed to watch, too powerless to stop.

"Well," Poseidon tried to find his calm countenance. "That was that. Well done, brother."

Saying it, saying the word 'brother' unexpectedly hurt. Percy sure knew how to hit where it hurt. Zeus unexpectedly flinched. Poseidon stared back blankly.

Zeus straightened up, tried to look unruffled. "Your son is something else entirely," he smiled so blandly that Poseidon felt compelled to look deeper, just in case this insult would be remembered and avenged.

But Zeus was too rattled, too off-kilter for Poseidon to be able to gauge now.

Zeus formally thanked him for his invitation, just as blankly, mostly on auto-pilot, and fled hurriedly.

He didn't even comment on Percy's bluey on Triton's bed and insinuated that Percy was _sleeping with_ Triton. Poseidon stared blankly at the blue stuffed toy, carelessly discarded as if it belonged there.

Poseidon had no intention of letting either of the two things go.

Percy had to be reprimanded for his blatant disrespect, which was tolerable only to a certain extent.

And both Triton and Percy had to give him an answer for this. After all, what sort of brothers sneaked into each other's rooms and were so physically tactile, so attuned to each other, so indulgent in each other's wants and needs in such a little time?

 _And if they did want to be together?_ The stray thought nagged at him.

Poseidon faltered at the thought of it.

It wasn't a crime to fall in love and they clearly had fallen, hard and fast. And Percy could hardly be blamed for 'straying'. It had hardly been his idea to get engaged and definitely not his fault that he had met Triton under these conditions.

Cursing under his breath, Poseidon turned tail and swam out, mind swimming with possibilities and ideas. After all, if his sons wanted a happy ending, by Chaos, would they get one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol. I have no problem telling you guys that Triton and Percy are purely platonic; they are brothers. I doubt that will easily get through a lot of gods' thick heads but yeah, it will be funny to see any idiot trying to get between the two brothers' bond.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, guys! I got so so many people commenting and reaching out to me this past week, and it has been such a delight. Never knew there were so many readers out there actively following this story. I was just blown away. Thanks, you all. Seriously. You have no idea how much it means to me.
> 
> Now, onto serious concerns. One, no, I am not leaving PJO fandom just yet. Please do not worry. To all those who've been following me as a writer, and not just this story, I will be posting a few more works soon enough. I have yet another multi-chapter fic in the works that needs to be posted and a one-shot that I'm rather proud of till now. To all those who are only following this story, feel free to check the rest of my works out. You might like them.
> 
> And, as for the vote, it's pretty clear. Ending-17; Vote-4. Of course, I've combined the votes I got on A03 and ff because there was no other way and might have miscounted a vote or two, but it's really so clear-cut that it would hardly make a difference. As for any concerns anyone might have about the ending, here is what I'm gonna do. I will be cutting off huge chunks from the story that I had originally meant to write. Everything cannot be wrapped up in a neat little bow as of yet. That would take about 100,000 words more. At least. If I cut off parts, even then you'll have at least 20-25k words to look forward to. Probably more. I've written over 70k words already, so it's not all bad.
> 
> And while I won't be giving a full-on redemption arc, I will be giving Apollo the benefit of the doubt by the end of it all. It won't be as absolute perhaps, but maybe it would be even more realistic in it's lack. At least I hope so.
> 
> And for all the writers, yes, you are all free to spin-off this AU if you want to. I will not interfere with your works, nor will I support or condone it. You may write it in stand-alone. And if you want, PM me, and I will link my fic to yours. Be warned though, poor grammar and simple spelling errors, extreme violence and gore and triggering content will make me NOT link your fic. You may still write and post it, but I will not link it to mine.
> 
> For writers looking for prompts and who like this AU, PM me. I would be willing to tell you about the parts I will be cutting off and you can write about it, if it's something that catches your fancy. I might even be willing to co-author little ficlets and one-shots in this AU if someone feels like contacting me, later on.
> 
> Third, whenever you feel like it, feel free to review and comment or drop a message. I might take days to get back to you due to my extremely hectic schedule but I will do my absolute best to reply. So don't be shy!
> 
> TO ALL THOSE WHO SKIPPED THE AN, PLS READ IT!

"You moron," Triton hissed at him. Percy sulkily looked ahead.

The hiding place they had found was hardly a good one. A small gap burrowed and hidden in between his wardrobe. Triton had easily found it and then pointed out that if he knew, then dad _definitely_ knew and what's more, he had continued in his snooty tone, they were in Poseidon's domain, the height if immeasurable power and could hardly hide from him here.

Percy had ignored all attempts at logic and shoved Triton in, head-first, and then climbed in after him, in the small space. It was just barely comfortable for one person (and Percy was so coming back to check it later on) but two was just too much.

In his defense, it had mostly been muscle memory though. Fight, flight or freeze. Sort of. Well, in his case, run and hide.

"Out," Triton hissed. "Let me out." He had two tails right now and one of them, the one that was curled around Percy's midsection, twitched. Percy bit back on his giggles. That tickled.

Percy got out before Triton figured that out and stored it away to use it to his advantage.

"What now?" Percy asked. "I know. We should go up to the surface. I gotta do a couple of-"

"No," Triton said firmly.

"I'm sorry?" Percy asked, honestly taken aback.

"No, we are not going up to the surface. We're going to dad now and sorting this mess out."

Percy crossed his arms. "You're not serious. C'mon Triton-"

"No, Percy," Triton interrupted, because they had both been born stubborn and unyielding but Triton had perfected that art-form in the millions of years since. "I am on your side; you know I am. Always. Through everything. So trust me when I say that this is the best way to manage everything-"

"What if I don't wanna?" Percy whined.

"He is our father-"

"No," Percy interrupted. "He is your father. To me, he is…he is just the god that gave birth to me. And if you don't wanna help, I will deal with it myself."

Percy moved to go but was grabbed with that unyielding grip on his. "Triton-"

"No," Triton growled and slammed him against the wall. The impact didn't hurt but the suddenness of it gave him a burst of _fearadrenalinepanic_ that anchored him, focused him to the present, to Triton, which was all the in that Triton needed.

He looked seriously at Percy. "If he is not your father," he asked, voice low. "Am I not your brother either?"

Percy felt a pang of hurt and couldn't even tell if it was his or Triton's or both of theirs. "Triton-" he said, his defiance draining out of him in a heartbeat, drying out in a way that no-one had ever been able to calm him down before.

"Trust me," Triton said, letting go. When Percy opened his mouth to protest, he added. "Please."

And that was that.

* * *

Percy was jittery the whole way, hands fidgeting and arms moving and mouth clacking. His anxiety burrowed itself into Triton's skin, made him feel on edge too.

 _It's just dad,_ Triton sternly reminded himself. But it wasn't 'just' dad for Percy; the demigod had never seen him as more than an indulgent god, capable of being wrathful but infinitely kind to him. He had never really forgotten the 'wrathful' part though.

Percy abruptly stopped outside the Throne Room, heart in throat. He groaned and tugged at his hair.

"It's not that bad," Triton said, trying to keep the emotion from his tone.

Percy obviously caught it though, eyeing him in exasperation. "I know nothing too bad is going to happen."

"Too bad?"

"I might get grounded," Percy understated to try to get the mood up.

Triton laughed softly, one hand fondly brushing off his hair. "You remind me of my Pallas."

Before Percy could reply to that, because apparently he reminded Triton of his _daughter_ , (and he knew that from Triton, there could not be a higher compliment, never _ever_ ) he caught sight of Poseidon, swimming towards them.

Triton caught sight of his emotions, turned around. "Hey, dad," they both mumbled.

Poseidon scanned them both, his eyes stormy, his gaze impassive. It always chilled Percy when he could not read Poseidon and especially when he knew he was in trouble.

Triton nudged Percy, cleared his throat, looked to him pointedly. Percy cleared his throat too, looked at Poseidon, made the sweetest, sorriest look possible. "I'm sorry, dad," he said softly.

Poseidon visibly softened, eyes getting warmer, his smile almost peeking out from his facade. "And you are forgiven," He said easily.

"That's it?" Percy asked, honestly stunned. "You won't even ground me or anything?"

"That's it. You apologized and I'm sure you won't do it again, will you?"

"No," Percy said reluctantly. Strangely his easy acceptance and forgiveness made him feel worse. If only dad had been angry, cruel; the least Poseidon could have done was punish him…he felt like the worst son ever.

"There is one thing that you can do for me," Poseidon said thoughtfully. Then smiled that smile of his. Opened his arms. Percy gladly stepped forward, let himself fall against that protection. In the arms of someone strong and powerful and eternal.

Poseidon squeezed him one last time and let go, still holding him by his shoulders to peer seriously in his eyes. He nodded once as if he had confirmed something, then pulled Triton into a hug too.

"Dad," Triton hissed. "Not cool." Percy snickered despite himself. Triton shot him a look over his shoulder because despite his protests, he didn't wiggle out of the hug.

Poseidon chuckled and let him go, getting serious. "Alright, you two. We need to talk and have a serious strategy. About Apollo and everything."

Percy, despite himself, was satisfied that Apollo was not a part of this elusive 'everything'. Maybe he was a bigger problem than the world burning and the economy crashing? That made sense to Percy so he aside put this phrase to use later.

Triton nudged him and stared meaningfully at him. Percy looked back, a little lost at what he wanted. Then abruptly realized. The favor and all.

His first instinct was to keep it to himself. Lesser the people who knew it, the better. And yet, this was their dad, a god who had always loved him and protected him and in case of the Ophiataurus, at the sake of his own honor.

Besides, Triton had never hidden his unabashed adoration for the god besides. It wouldn't do to ask him to hide something of this magnitude from Poseidon. He would do it if asked; Percy didn't doubt that, but Percy had no reason to mistrust Poseidon either and even his deepest instincts thought that god was protection, then maybe he needed to start listening.

He nodded to Triton and the relief on his link made him sure it was the right choice.

They sat down together in a sort of sitting area or something fancier than that. Invisible hands served them stuff; when they tried to give him tea, he refused but agreed to a glass of juice.

It was naturally delicious, as were the snacks on his end.

"So?" Percy prompted the two.

"Just waiting for your mother to come. She wanted to be here," Poseidon smiled faintly. His own cup of tea remained untouched.

Percy was ashamed that despite how awesome Amphitrite was, his first thought was still of Sally. Surely that wasn't fair to the goddess who had opened her arms and home to him. He let the thought lie and concentrated on his sandwiches.

He looked up at Triton, "What?"

"You're so small," Triton started (and really, Percy tried not to take offense considering that Tritons and Icthyocentaurs looked like they could easily snap him in half), "And yet you eat so much."

"I'm a growing boy," Percy shot back, as had been his default for years. Triton looked fascinated. "Really?"

"No, you moron," Percy reveled in telling Triton off.

"A little," Poseidon said at the same time, then shot him a disapproving look. "Percy, behave."

Percy shrunk down in his seat a little, more scared of his father's disappointment than he was of his anger. "I'm sorry."

"I think we need some ground rules. I'm not very fond of rules myself, but some things are above the line."

"Okay."

"We will talk this over later, just you and me." Despite the wink that accentuated Poseidon's point, Percy didn't feel better about going in for a serious talk without Triton. He just mutely nodded though. "Anyway," he said, turning to Triton. "Human children don't fully mature till they're 25."

"That's so long," Triton said in awe, just as Percy said incredulously, "It doesn't take that long."

Their debate topic was halted by Amphitrite's arrival, gracefully swimming in to take a seat at the vacant space on the table. "Perseus." She said sweetly.

"Percy," he corrected in exasperation. She knew his name, he knew she did; why did so many of these gods still insist on Perseus? It was an ancient, practically extinct name; like dinosaurs…and the gods, he privately added to himself.

Triton straightened and looked directly at him, and though there was no expression on his face and neither of them could read minds, he could have sworn that Triton knew he had just been insulted. Percy innocently looked away.

"Onto the first course of action," Amphitrite started. "And I have been waiting for awhile for this, so no arguments there."

No-one said a thing.

Amphitrite nodded, satisfied. "The servants in the dungeons. We need to pass a judgement there."

Percy poked at his fourth sandwich and wondered what he was there for.

"Percy," she said sharply, catching his attention. "Pay attention. We've delayed judgement for your sake."

His sake? Percy puzzled out what that statement could possibly mean until realization dawned. No way. No. Way. "You're not serious," Percy said, incredulous. "C'mon, punishment for something this little?!"

"It's not little to me," Amphitrite said sternly, hands resting on her lap. "They insulted my family. And not just any family, a royal family. You, of all people, must understand the necessity."

Percy did understand the distances. There was loneliness at the top, solitude; there was a reason there was a stereotype about the man at the top being alone. He knew all about it first-hand; there were some restrictions, obligations, duties. Power, while addictive in theory, was rarely, if ever, easy, practically.

"It wasn't that bad," Percy mumbled.

"And regardless." She sipped at her tea. "What do you think would be a suitable punishment?"

It didn't even take that long for him to decide. "Working at the Camp with children. But of course, they can't be given power. Not the sort that can hurt, at least. So, something a bit more…humbling." That is to say, probably humiliating for someone of their stature, working as royal cooks or whatever they had been working as.

Despite his earlier reluctance, Amphitrite had to conceded that when Percy got into it, he really got into it.

"That's fair," she conceded. Poseidon nodded, as did Triton. "Now, onto your personal matters. Do you want to choose your personal guards and chef, etc or should I?"

"Is that really necessary? I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that." Percy liked his freedom just fine, and he wasn't sure he liked the idea of random people intruding in it.

"We're a family, but we have to prove it to everyone too. We all have our personal staff; how would it look if you did not?" Percy knew she was right, but he didn't like the idea of anyone waiting on him hand and foot, and following him around, and nodding seriously at every word he said.

Sometimes he needed to play that part, because it was inevitable at the position he held, but he wasn't happy with the idea of it happening at his home too.

"Your room is not habitable to mer-folk. And you have my permission to run as far and make as much trouble as you wish to," Poseidon winked at him.

Amphitrite closed her eyes in exasperation. "Husband-"

"Give him some freedom, dear. Not everyone is happy with the same kind of life-style. Let him be to live his life as it pleases him."

Amphitrite nodded, acquiescent. Percy grinned at Poseidon. He winked back. Triton just idly sat by, flashed him an amused smile when he glanced over.

"Now, onto the important parts." Poseidon grimaced. "Apollo."

Triton and Percy glanced at each other, held a silent conversation in a glance. Percy nodded. Triton's mouth twisted, not happy being pushed under this bridge. Percy cleared his throat, started. "We do have one phase of a plan. Well, sort of."

Triton rolled his eyes and took over, summarizing their plan with a few well-placed words. Poseidon nodded thoughtfully, eyes glazed in thought. "That could certainly work."

Percy could feel Triton's pride at his father's praise, even though he did not stir. Percy glanced thoughtfully at him.

Despite all his say about having a great relationship with his father, it seemed there was something lingering inside, a need for approval, a craving to be acknowledged among the hoards of children Poseidon had sired in his life-time.

Percy wondered if Triton was even aware of it, or if it was just a subconscious trait buried in between hard logic and sweet adoration. After all, there was no denying despite everything that Poseidon loved his first-born and his wife.

"Percy," Poseidon distracted his attention from where he was absently staring at Triton. There was something in Poseidon's eyes, calculating, analytical. It made Percy get goosebumps.

This was the master of his trade. While Percy was way too good at achieving his ends without having to play too dirty, this god had mastered and perfected that art in the millennia since.

"You need to be ready tomorrow. To meet with Apollo again." The words were like a bucket of ice-cold water.

Percy wasn't even aware of getting up, chair dramatically levitating in an attempt from one or all of them to keep it from falling, eyes hot and furious, frustrated and angry. "That's not fair!" He said hotly.

"Perseus," Poseidon's tone was rigid steel, quiet and deadly in a way that he had never, ever used against Percy. "Sit down." Percy sat down. He felt hot and cold and…his heart hurt. It really hurt. A physical ache in his chest that made him feel lost.

He was acting out of sorts, he knew he was. But the thought of hearing words like Apollo, marriage or fiancé or anything along these lines any more made him want to scream.

He needed to get away from this. Everything. But he couldn't. He was apparently trapped. And what did a fool do when he had no way out?

He didn't say anything.

"Percy, I get that you're scared and you're feeling helpless." Percy kept his eyes blank, but inside he screamed _you don't know shit! You've never had to face anything like that!_

Poseidon went on, apparently unperturbed by Percy's sudden stillness and silence. "But you need to understand and cope with this reality."

Percy didn't need to do shit. Actually, no, that wasn't true. He didn't _want_ to do it. Let the world burn, he thought petulantly. But the thought didn't hold any appeal either.

He said nothing.

Faced with his stubborn silence, Poseidon leaned back with a sigh. "We really need to have a talk on decorum and behavior."

The thought made Percy inordinately angry. He was just another misfit, was he? A troublemaker? Despite his anger, he kept his face smooth, eyes blank.

He didn't show his anger.

Silence could not be argued against, bargained with. It just was, absolute in it's absence, powerful at it's lack.

He kept quiet, still, a volcano of emotions beneath a veneer of silent, mindless calm. He sat there, silent, still, until everyone else had left and there was just Triton and him, quiet and blank.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Long time, yeah? Truth be told, I'm running out of buffer chapters. I've written a couple more after that, but it's been slow-going. Sadly. I wanna write, but I'm not in the mood to write this. What a shame, isn't it? Still, I'll try my best to get you all the ending you deserve. If I'm still forced to put it on hiatus, please be patient. There are no plans to do that yet, but I thought you all best know the situation beforehand only.

This day, at least, thankfully, everyone had let him be to wear whatever he pleased. It was supposed to be a 'study date'. Like Percy had asked for an explanation. Like Percy needed another reason to hate 'institutionalized education' (which was totally an Annabeth word, and didn't that feel like a dagger to his heart; the idea of facing his friends still made him burn with embarrassment, still made his gut clench, still made him painfully anxious). Like Percy even cared.

Yet, he had stared at his ceiling, unable to sleep _all night long,_ staring and thinking, a sickening feeling in his chest.

 _Why him?_ He selfishly, unashamedly wondered. He petulantly told himself he wouldn't even care if Apollo picked some random shmuck off the streets, and even meant it for a scary second.

Morning brought Triton's calming core and his soothing, deep, hypnotic tone.

He didn't go out in his sweats and loose t-shirt because that would be too comfortable, but he didn't dress up either because that would be misconstrued too. He wore a simple pair of jeans, a semi-casual button-down black shirt.

He unthinkingly held Triton's hand and felt the rough, inhuman texture of it. It was strangely comforting.

"You ready to go?" Triton asked, looking strangely exhausted. Did gods even need sleep like humans do?

Percy shrugs lethargically, letting go of the hand, taking a step back. He stares out at the kingdom below. Like some fucked-up princess in an original Grimm story.

"Let's go," he said, irritated at the thought. He was _not_ some damsel in distress. He was not.

Strangely enough, Apollo looked as nervous as he felt. His foot kept tapping and his hands were busy tapping a beat on his arms. Even his hair just warrants a brief glance-over and something almost approving in his eyes (and didn't that make Percy want to scream; people he loved didn't like it and the person he had wanted to shock loved it. He felt stupid having dyed it in the first place).

Percy smugly wondered if the first disaster of a date had put him off.

While the thought was impressive, he knew it couldn't be that easy.

Of course, it was naturally the dumbest 'study date' in the history of ever.

It consisted of a ADHD and dyslexic demigod who was allergic to learning and the god of knowledge. Sounded like the start of a really bad joke to him.

Apollo was surprisingly on edge, which was a puzzling yet satisfying mystery to Percy, but was very understandable to Apollo himself. After all, these weren't like any trials he had ever had so far. And he did mean _ever_.

"Alright," Apollo tried valiantly. "We should start with Mathematics." Math always settled him down some, it was so logical, so calming.

He flipped open the textbooks with practiced ease. Scanned it with a critical eye. Chuckled. "This is so basic."

Percy peered at the textbooks as if that would solve what he had been unable to solve in the past however-many-years.

Revulsion rose in his throat at the very sight of it.

Textbooks and Apollo: his two least favorite things in the same place.

"This is all shit," Percy said mournfully. "I hate it."

"Hate it? No, no. This is wonderful and very important," Apollo insisted. "If you don't like it at all, that means you didn't have good enough teachers."

Percy looked at him doubtfully, in a way that left no doubt that he thought Apollo was an idiot. "No good teachers in 9 schools? None of them? Ever? 'Cuz I can tell you Math isn't the only subject that I hate."

"Okay," Apollo said patiently. "I can change that. Which ones do you hate?"

"Hmm," Percy said as if in deep thought. "Let's see…English is hell on my dyslexia. History is boring enough to put me to sleep. Maths…why does that idiot keep losing his ex?! Geography…Apparently, Mount Olympus and all that mystical lands do not exist and do not count and only get me detentions for being 'clever with them'. You'd think they want me to be clever. Apparently not," Percy shrugged.

Then continued. "Physics is ridiculous when you've seen people bend the laws like it's their personal playground. Biology-"

"Okay," Apollo interrupted with a pained sigh. "Is there…is there any subject that you like? How about something related to oceans or something?"

Percy looked vaguely insulted. Then again, he always looked a little insulted when Apollo opened his mouth nowadays. "I like the ocean. I don't like studying about it. I mean, if I like dogs, does that automatically mean I want to be a veterinary doctor?"

He had a point there, but Apollo wasn't sure he liked it.

"Okay, we should stick to something fun or something like that. Um, how about we start with…history? You like battles and stuff, right?"

Percy, if possible, looked even more insulted. "How does fighting a war translate to me liking it?"

Apollo twitched. He wasn't in a good mood already and normally, he could well ignore Percy's ignorant tone, but today it grated on him with all the irritation of a thousand nails on the blackboard.

(If Hermes were here, he would cheerfully point out that this was a good example of a hyperbole and Apollo, in his already irritated state, would try to murder Hermes)

"Well," he said in irritation, closing the book with a snap. "What do you like?"

Percy paused at that, eyes narrowed in thought. When no answer was forthcoming, Apollo tried.

"There must be something you enjoy learning about. Something-"

"There isn't," Percy said blankly, almost boredly.

Apollo didn't, couldn't believe that. Percy was smart and confident. He had to have something he could enjoy learning about. Apollo didn't fall in love with people like _that:_ people who were too shallow, too uncouth, too simple to get ahead.

Percy was ambitious in a way that came naturally but not desperately to him. He felt too deeply, was too intuitive to…to be dumb.

"C'mon," Apollo tried cheerfully. "It's not too bad."

"Here, let's try this," Apollo pulled out a book on economics. He guessed rightly that something with practical life applications might interest Percy because Percy is that kind of person.

Percy stubbornly did not say anything.

Apollo flipped open the book, started explaining.

In his defense, Percy managed to sit still for a whole five minutes. Also in his defense, he did not keep shut for Apollo's sake. He was busy thinking.

His juvenile annoyance that his dye had failed to even get a shocked glance fed his already growing fears and anxiety. But right now, he wasn't thinking about any of that.

Wasn't fussing about the state of the world, wasn't worrying about his friends and family, wasn't even afraid for himself.

He was just sad, softly in nostalgic mourning.

Jonathan…

Percy had been only 15, already aware of what the farce of normalcy hid underneath, just knowledge enough to be wary, just ignorant enough to be scared.

He had been so torn, between battles, between his mortal and godly side, between cruel love…he had gone to the stupid school dance in a fit of defiance.

He had never enjoyed dances, but everyone else _did_ and he had decided to chase after that elusive 'normal' that he now knows really means nothing to anyone except for a way to make their problems bigger than they were and trivialize others'.

But back then, 'normal' had been a safe lifeline. It meant more perhaps, believing that what he was going through was worse than anyone else, that others' were happy and perfectly content and that he was the only one with a bad life.

Barely half an hour in, he had admitted defeat.

The pretty girl whose name now eludes him had just found a pretty toy to show-off for her friends and had been perfectly happy to ditch him when a newer one came along. The realization that he really didn't _care_ when he should have been livid had made him leave.

He had walked out in his dress shoes and black suit, perfectly fitting for when he had had it tailor-made for his mom's wedding and felt like an idiot.

He had loosened up his tie, sat on the swing set of the school park. A cigarette would have completed the aesthetics, but even then he had been smarter than that.

Jonathan had wandered out moments later.

It had been a bizarre set of circumstances that had made them start talking, two strangers in an abandoned park at night with no-one around to shout for help if they needed it. And yet, Percy had opened his mouth, talked to the stranger, half-clouded in shadows.

In the dark shadows of the night, Jonathan had been all the more enigmatic and wild.

"Why are you here?" he had asked.

And for once, Percy had replied honestly, instead of deflecting it. "I wanted to try being normal."

It had sounded silly the second he had said it and Jonathan had clearly thought so too, because he had thrown his head back and laughed. "You're one of those boring ones that like to be liked, aren't you?"

The way he had said it was grating, but there was a part of him which knew that he did validate his existence with other people's opinions and that grated. Naturally, he had set out to prove him wrong.

7 days later had Jonathan on a subtle advantage and Percy on a petulant back-step with a point to prove.

3 months had passed with them pulling each other's legs and mercilessly teasing each other and both of them could later concede that maybe it had gone from friendly to mean but never cruel.

One day, they had just seamlessly fallen in together and become fast friends.

The potential, Percy now suspected had always been there. They had just been too busy clashing.

Everything that followed had been easy.

One day, Percy had casually asked him on a date without fanfare, without even sparing it a thought and Jonathan had shrugged and said yes and they had still been friends and it had still been easy.

They would kiss and make out and put their hands down and throw their clothes off and sometimes it was clumsy and sometimes it was fun and sometimes they laughed but they were always easy.

They had both known it wouldn't last and saying goodbye had been nostalgic but just as easy.

Percy had been ready for war. Jonathan had been ready to go back home.

They both had their responsibilities and they both knew their priorities. Neither one of them was offended that they weren't first on that list.

Earlier, Percy had thought it was a sign of their maturity and Jonathan had been nothing more than a passing, fond thought.

His death though had made him a bigger competitor than his life ever could have.

The pain of that had forever immortalized Jonathan in his mind as the clever, kind boy with sharp, dark eyes leaning against the swing next to him. He had lived a flawed life but in his death, he was forever redeemed, forever beautiful, forever his.

Apollo could never compare to that. He hadn't snuffed out a candle, he had immortalized it as a star.

A snap of fingers made him look up, belated, delayed, almost lost.

"Are you even listening?"

And suddenly, suddenly he was _furious._ So angry he had no words, so angry he didn't even nod or shake his head or even get up and scream. He just stared.

Stared at this ridiculous, tiny, insignificant god who was just trying to play at being grander than he actually was, when he nothing more than an insignificant worm…

It was like looking at a rich businessman with his sleazy smile, talking to a ditzy celeb with more beauty than sense, a politician with more votes than morals, that they might seem high and mighty, that they might seem to be living wonderful lives and having great fun but they were missing something essential, something more important than money and fame, that there were hollow spaces in between.

Apollo was hollow inside and if Percy didn't hate him so much, he'd actually pity him. Pity that he clearly didn't realize what was missing. Pity because he was pitiful in a hateful kind of way.

But pity was too soft, too mild.

He hated Apollo too much to pity him.

"Percy," Apollo said in exasperation. "Are you even listening? This is-"

Percy's voice, when it comes out, is calmer than he had expected it to be. "You say you love me."

Apollo's eyes soften. "I do, of course I do. So much you don't even know. Everything I've done-"

Percy interrupted him, uncaring of what the god was saying. "Take me up to the surface." He doesn't put up an air of finesse, doesn't cite Apollo's love and asks him to be faithful to it. It's too bland to be a demand, too plain to be caring.

Apollo scans his face, nods hesitantly anyway, tries for a smile.

Percy doesn't smile back.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm back. A little late, but better late than never. Good news: this fic has just two more chapters after this and they're already finished. Even better news, I have two brand new works, finished and ready to be published. So yeah, hopefully I'll be better at publishing for now :)  
> And I'm a little behind on replying to comments this week. Sorry to all those I haven't replied back to. I've just gotten a little busy. But of course, I've read them and love them all. They all mean a lot to me.

Percy doesn't much care or look back to see if Apollo is following. He is focused.

He climbs up a rising slope, then jumps down gracefully the winding steps carved into stone and hill.

It's a beautiful place. Mostly deserted, unmarred by the panic of the masses, this has lived on untouched mostly because there were too few people here to actually panic. They had huddled together instead of tearing each other down. Not the first or the only town to have done that but rare simply because the news channels only focus on the big, burning cities.

This town at the edge of the mountain housed a small population of 247 which has since reduced to a grim 32. Some had left and some…some had left forever.

He doesn't turn to the sloping houses or look to the picturesque beauty though. He walks on straight.

Apollo wordlessly keeps pace.

The stone structure in front of him is simple. A black slab of granite with glittery cursive letters adorned on the front. It's big enough to be taller than his 6 feet height but simple enough that it doesn't feel too gaudy.

A perfect memorial for dead children.

Percy's guts churns just thinking of it like that.

Jonathan hadn't been a child. His classmates hadn't been children. It didn't feel like they were children because they were his age and that was young but not child-like. But his relatives had mourned his death as if he were a child. This memorial was dedicated to children.

As far as the world was concerned, it was a tragedy. All the more so because it had happened to children.

"Almost two months ago," Percy said, staring ahead, pointedly not looking at Apollo. "A tragedy struck a small cozy town in Illinois. Scientists are still investigating the novel disease that unexpectedly spread through the place where the epicenter was, get this, this town. Patient zero was my Jonathan."

Jonathan wasn't his, never his because they were too independent and too invested in their freedom to care about that, but it's worth it for how Apollo's eyes flash.

"What a coincidence," Percy said, voice low. "That it happened the night after he met me again."

Apollo was quiet but not guilty. His eyes were flat. "Yes," he said, almost mockingly. Percy had never heard him sound like that. He was a jerk, a bastard, a monster, a _god_ and his actions had been proof aplenty, but never his words. Gods no. His words were always soft honey, his attitude sweet and charming. "What a coincidence." He ironically echoed.

The unexpected tone scared him. Drained off his anger. Raised his hackles.

 _Be wary,_ his instincts screamed at him. _Be very careful._

"You killed my friend." Percy stood still, more bravery than he felt in his tone.

"I only accelerated the inevitable." The words are calm, matter-of-factly.

"That's-" Percy spluttered, so angry he couldn't think straight.

"He was going to die anyway." Apollo pressed, as if Percy might have misunderstood something somewhere in between.

"That's not the point," Percy snarled. "Death is meaningless. It's only life that has meaning and you cut that short."

Apollo's eyes furrowed. "If death is meaningless-"

"Of course it is," Percy said, exasperated that he wasn't getting something so obvious. "Death is a constant, it's a stage of life. Like, birth or childhood or old age. But life is never meaningless, because you can never live in a vacuum and that means that you affect the world and that makes your life matter. And it doesn't stop mattering after you die. But you cut it short, you cut his life short, you cut him short and the world will still always be affected by his life even if it's just a subconscious under-the-layers thing, but not the way he wanted it to."

"Life doesn't work the way mortals want them to."

Percy looked at him with deep sated disappointment. "No, but it doesn't always have to be a bad thing. And you don't have to be so callous about it."

"I'm a god," he mildly reminded. "Fragile lives mean little to me."

"Then I'm sure you'd be wonderfully pleased with my death." Percy snapped, now more than ever grateful for his father's helping hand there.

He doesn't look back and stop to hear the reply.

He barely just gets to the outskirts of the town before Apollo catches up to him.

Well, no, 'catching up' implies that Percy was ever out of reach and that's simply not true. Apollo just simply _appears_ next to him, walking like he was never gone.

The air around them cackles with the crisp scent of ozone, flash with the incredulous display of blue sparks. Percy has no doubt that if he were human, his fingertips would have burnt right off from when he tried to poke it. As it was, he winced in pain and put his finger in his mouth to cool it down.

"I talked to my father," Apollo said sourly, not bothering to look at him.

"Did you?" And doesn't ask how they had managed to have a talk and complete all of those exaggerated formalities in the little time it had taken for him to walk to the gate. Especially considering all the formalities that the Greeks insisted on their wherein they bowed and gave crptic hints and played games that didn't need playing.

He feels satisfied. His first win. His very first win that matters in a very long time.

But then Apollo looks back to him. His eyes are alight with anger and righteous victory. Percy's heart sinks even as Apollo starts to smirk. "You didn't think I wasn't ready for that, were you?"

Percy stops walking. Abruptly. Turns to look at him with shuttered eyes. No way. No. Fucking. Way.

"I knew you wouldn't choose me over your little mortal family," Apollo said, head high, eyes wounded. "So I just…did what I had to do."

Percy wanted to ask what that was. What had he done? But, but he already knew. Pieces fell into place. A puzzle he hadn't even realized he was puzzling over.

His long spells of sleep and that bouts of dizziness that had, as Triton pointed out, come and gone much sooner than anticipated. Divine sickness could kill. He had just been seriously sick for one day.

There were other allusions to it too. Even subtler, just bubbling under the surface waiting to be pulled out. They flashed by his mind in an instant. There and gone. Irrelevant but for what they signified.

Percy is surprised that he isn't surprised. Like, a part of him had already known even if his mind had been slow to catch up on it. Like, he had already lost before he had even known to pick up the weapons.

He just stares at Apollo with wide eyes and a bewildered look.

Apollo smiles at him and the worst thing is that he doesn't seem smug or immature or victorious. He almost seems sad.

Not like the pity kind of sad. Not even I-feel-sorry-to-have-done-this kind of sad. More like, the sort of patronizing sad that parents had to be when their child wouldn't eat the veggies and they had to make him, even through his tears.

If Percy wasn't so bewildered, he would be angry.

As it is, Apollo doesn't give him the time or the chance. The god leans to him and pecks him on the lips once, perfectly chaste and disappears without even straightening up.

Percy is too numb to even scream.

It's at the edge of that bench on a half-dead sleepy town that Percy first falls off reality.

He sits there, unafraid because the worst has already happened and uncaring because the only way is up now. He can't possibly go further down. He is at the bottom and it's time for him to climb up.

He is leaning on the bench, a perfect view of his dead friend, a perfect view of a flawless sunset that he naturally hates from the core of his heart, hoping against hope that Triton does not pick up on his moods and he remembers thinking clearly, viciously, _Wish I lived in a world that had no Apollo in it._

And before he can even tell himself off for it, he flies down…to a world before the sun god.

The first thing he notices is just how pure the air is. He breathes in the scent of crisp, pure air. Blinks in bewilderment. He doesn't know what to do with something this pure. Looks around.

It's green. So green.

Percy twitches in discomfort. If there is one thing he knows, it's that humans are incapable of sustaining something this pure. Which means he's somewhere divine. (As fucked up as his life, it still never occurs to him that maybe, just maybe he's some _when_ rather than somewhere.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please rate and review. It means the world to me.


	26. Chapter 26

Thankfully for Percy, he manages to get away from the world. Bad news, it takes him hours and hours of walking around and getting increasingly panicked in a strange setting with the weirdest flowers and animals around.

Even worse news, he just lands someplace else.

The room is bright, so bright, too bright, it hurts his eyes. He shields them with his hands and curses the gods and all their insanity. After all, who else would be idiot enough to make a room…filled with gold?!

No, seriously.

It's not a room which has a few heaps of gold in it. It's not even a room which has big heaps of gold on it. It's a room which is actually _made_ of gold. Walls and ceilings and everything included. No diamonds, nothing else. Just gold.

As for what idiot could make it, he had a few in mind. His stupid _fiancé_ was at the top of his list.

"Child," a stern, rough voice, hoarse with impatience called for him. "Get up now. That behavior is not appropriate for godlings, young or old."

Percy peeked out, sighed in relief at the dim, plain room. The walls were beige in color. Good enough. Anything and everything was better than the stupid gold walls.

Only after that, did he turn to the man.

Percy was surprised. He had expected an old man from that voice, but the man in front of him was young and fit, eyes a clear, soft gold. They reminded him eerily of Kronos, but without the oppressive power that had once made his skin crawl.

"Who are you?" he asked, curiously.

"Chronos."

Percy tensed but before he could say or do anything, the man rolled his eyes. "The Primordial, not the Titan."

Percy looked at the man warily. "What's the difference?"

The primordial rolled his eyes. "Chaos save us from the ignorance of the world. The Titan controlled time, child. I AM Time."

Percy hesitated. "How can you be Time?"

"How could Gaia be- what do you children call it nowadays, Earth? How could Gaia be Earth?"

Percy really didn't have much to say to that. He kept quiet.

Chronos nodded like _that clears that up._ But it didn't. It didn't clear anything up.

"I don't understand. Why am I here? Where am I? What-"

Chronos stopped him, shaking his head. "Why do I always get stuck with this nonsense? They should let an old man be."

Percy wasn't sure he counted as old. But then again, this was some immortal crap all over again. They were all ancient, even when they didn't look it.

But he had never heard any deity refer to itself as old. They all just seemed to believe they were infinity long and would be infinities still.

Death was hard to compute for a being that defined what immortality was and knew eternity was his.

Not this one though, it seemed.

"You, little godling, have been chosen. Naturally. I wasn't sure you were the right choice, but well, Ananke does love to pull my leg."

When Percy didn't glow with obvious realization, Chronos shook his head again, muttered sullenly under his breath. "You're a god in transit. I hope you know at least that much."

Percy flushed but nodded. He felt so stupid.

"Well, then. I'm here to help you understand yourself and your domains. Of course, I'm supposed to let you _realize_ your domains yourself. But I have the feeling that if I left it on you, we'd be stuck here for an eternity. And trust me, I _know_ eternity."

Percy believed him.

"Your domains are dimensions of space and time."

When Percy didn't break out in song and dance over this, Chronos just sighed and took out the bottle of vodka. Boy, would they need it.

"I hate mortal-born gods," Chronos laments suddenly, startling Percy.

"We're not all bad." Percy tried cautiously, meaning mortals and not mortal-born gods of course.

"Oh please. If you alleviate one in status, they try to play by their very own rules. Because of course, we were just blindly walking in the dark before you came along to guide us along."

Percy flushed because that seemed a bit too pointed. "That's not true."

"Oh please, child. I have seen eons. I have seen the beginning and end of time, have measured out moments by the weight of eternity. I know much. And mortals, contrary to what they preach, are far from perfect."

"I never said that," because there is just no point saying 'mortals' when Chronos really just means to insult him.

"But you think it. You doubt the faith of your own gods, wonder at their actions and then at their inactions. You know they exist, but you have never believed, have you, child?"

Percy glares. That had touched a nerve. "You want me to worship gods that kill and rape and slander and loot?"

Chronos smiles coldly, pleased at the reaction. "And yet, who taught them that? Do not insult what you cannot understand. Humans do the same. Have done the same for eons."

"Two wrongs don't make a right. Gods don't get a free pass just because humans do it too."

"Right?" Chronos mused, laughing coldly. "There are no rights or wrongs, my dear. The world is never that neat and simple. And I don't ask you to worship rapists. I ask you to worship those that have kept the balance for so long, that have made harsh choices and led the world where it is today. You blame them for all that goes wrong. But you still don't credit them with all that has gone right. As a god, you must be neutral. You must understand balance, you must understand death. Let this be your lesson, Perseus Jackson. You do not go to your timeline until you learn divinity."

Percy's eyes flash, dangerously golden. He's up in the deity's space with barely a second's hesitation. The raw power in the Primordial's gaze would make most falter, but Percy's recklessness had always been derived from a higher strength.

He had never much found value in his life, and it had made it easier to stand against all the other sane beings who did.

As it is, there is no killing Primordials.

Primordials just are, they are the divine consciousness of the fabric of reality. They don't govern reality, they are the basis of reality, they are reality itself. Most one can hope for is a primordial sleeping, but even if they are not, it hardly matters.

After all, what was an atom to a solar system?

Percy's antagonism does not garner much of a response. The Primordial knows well his own value and knows Death too and knows the End and all that could be. Little godlings did not faze him.

"You'll learn," Chronos says, annoyed at having found a stubborn, misguided soul for his godling, but utterly certain it would pass too. They had eons and eons to live hence and eons to learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments are a delight. Also, I'll be uploading more of my works soon enough. Do check them out.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the long awaited chapter is here! I'm so excited! Do let me know what you guys think.

Percy stumbled upon him by accident.

He was trying his best to make sure that other people minded their own business and not poke their silly little noses in his and all the while, poking his nose in theirs.

In Percy's defense though, ancient societies were notoriously close-knitted. They did not welcome strangers. Unity in humanity was a very modern ideology. Back then, only your people were yours and everyone else was a suspicious stranger.

If he had to guess, this was Ancient Greece. Actually, not much guessing was required. The clothes and the dialects were a dead give-away. The power hummed in his bones.

He had thought that gods would be more powerful here. But gods, like every other being, did not derive strength from others'. They just were. While sacrifices were flattering, they were ultimately unnecessary. After all, they had lived in the eons before humans and would live after them too.

What was surprising was that gods had a different essence here, a more tangible flavor that was difficult to explain to anyone who was not divine.

Percy was good at catching scents and reading situations and people.

Despite that, he didn't quite prepare himself in time. He stumbled upon the stranger, a _familiar_ stranger, it was a surprise for Percy. Percy stared in disbelief. At a millennia younger Apollo.

Apollo thankfully didn't see him. He didn't even look like Apollo back home. His eyes were brighter, not as muted. Perhaps, a little brighter even than the time Percy had first met him. He was in a traditional chiton, making it look like a natural thing to wear, which Percy supposed, was true for these parts of the world.

As Percy watched, the man by his side, turned over to Apollo, grinned at him. Though it was a little difficult, Percy managed to get the gist of it. The man was playfully asking him to teach him the bow.

Apollo grinned back, lazily, a perfect show of white teeth and tugged at him. As Percy watched, Apollo smoothly handed the man a bow and arrows and corrected his posture. It was a bull's eye and Percy faded away as they kissed at their victory.

He came to with a gasp. The sight does not help with his vertigo. He's standing in space. It's such a cliché. Standing there, surrounded by stars and looking down at the Earth…he should be elated, awed, mystified.

He's just scared. In a very different sort of way than he's ever been scared before. This fear includes the complexity of what he had been and what he is and what will be.

Time isn't linear, but it's not parallel dimensions either. It's so much more complex. The simplest explanation would be forks in a road. You travel a road and you can take any decision and follow your path but it's limited. How big a decision is big enough to fork? Whose decisions are thoughtful enough to alter some changes in the time-line in any way? Is it infinite? Finite? Does time have an end or does it loop, end to beginning and back and forth again and again?

He squeezes his non-existent eyes shut, tries to block his mind. But it's like, trying to stop an incoming train through the force of his mind. He could _technically_ do it. But the force is so very large or perhaps the mere idea, the thought is so very daring that he can't quite give his best. It's simpler to let the train crash. It's easier to just let it be.

Something tickles his cheek and his eyelashes brush against his eyes and his hands are curled loosely against his fists. His legs are upright. His legs are _upright._ He's standing. He's surprised but it's such a belated response he does not even react.

He walks over. It's not that he isn't in perfect control, because he is. But he feels this compelling, overwhelming feeling of the strangest taste of deja vu that seems to choke his breath.

These actions are his, but he's done it before, or maybe he will do it in the future (and yes, of course he will. That goes without saying, doesn't it?). Someone calls out to him and he runs to hug his brother. _Can he hug him literally too?_

Percy is stuck.

He is supposed to be a god. He was supposed to see the world. He keeps seeing what matters to him, what is in his narrow field of view. He runs to Triton, past, present, (future?) and clings to his essence for no reason other than _I'm scared, brother, protect me._

He peeks in on Apollo, shyly, resentfully, fascinated, horrified, just _there, there, there._ The world is so so big. Space is not infinite. Infinity is incomprehendable. Infinity is something that is not, not really.

Something can be big, so big, so so big, you stop and think _the sky is my limit,_ meaning of course that you have no limits and _I can see infinity from here_. But you can't. There is no infinity. There is big, there is so big that you stop and think, this is infinity, it has to be. But that's the point. It's only an infinity from the perspective of the ant on the ground.

His perspective should have been broader. He was supposed to be able to see past his own experiences. But he's still human. Not mortal anymore, no. But human.

Mortals were supposed to have been crafted in the image of the gods. And they are. But that's it. It's an image, it's a reflection of something unquantifiable, something distorted by the essence of a dirty mirror.

He binds himself closer to Triton, shares in his suffering and cries with him in the Past ( _what is the past, really?)_ and is it really a surprise that the two of them are bound even in the future and they had just picked each other so seamlessly?

Sometimes he shadows Apollo.

If Triton is honest in who he projects, Apollo is the opposite. He's soft with Admetus, adoring and lavishing his lover with gifts and a blessing on his marriage (even when he marries someone else). Most of his other lovers are not even half as lucky.

He maintains an unconditional friendship with Hermes and Percy often finds them pulling pranks. He has a much more volatile relationship with Eros.

He cures and heals. He kills and destroys. Percy has never been more aware that he makes for a perfect god, and an impossible human.

Percy makes for a good human. He's hopelessly lost as a god though.

And it's just so easy to lose himself, bit by bit, piece by piece in the time stream.

Percy can't figure out when they can see him and when they can't. It's right on the tip of his tongue, he a _lmost_ understands it. But he doesn't really get it though.

He know he will soon enough though.

As it is, sometimes he'd come to them as a human-looking child and depending, they would sometimes acknowledge him (sometimes they would pick up and hug him). Sometimes he'd come in some other guise. Man, woman, snake, wolf, Pegasus…it hardly seemed to matter.

Once he trots to his father as a pure white Pegasus and Poseidon smiles and runs his hand against Percy and fondly whispers, ' _My son_ '. Percy can't figure out if it's the past, present, future. (How do you decide that anyway?)

Did Poseidon always know his destiny? Or is it just a generic, Father of horses kind of thing? Had he just called the Pegasus his son or had he known the difference?

Poseidon had once told him that they shared the gift of prophecy. Percy suspects that Poseidon's gift is much more advanced than his had ever been. Poseidon is rarely surprised by Life's curveballs anyway.

Once he wakes up as a soft kitten, curled up in Annabeth's lap. She smiles down at his stunned face. _Morning, sleepyhead._

It comes and fades and goes without warning. He doesn't always know how he gets to that place, that space in time. Doesn't always know when he is either. He doesn't remember the beginning. He doesn't remember leaving that time and place either.

"Do you see now?" There is his mentor in front of him. The gold room is still too gold, still too bright. It hurts his eyes. It anchors him to the place and time.

"I-" He can't _think._ There are so many perspectives, so many people, so much. "No," he said with absolute surety. Because he doesn't know how to be a god. He only knows how to be human, how to be mortal and they are not the same, they are never the same.

It's comparing a lion to a deer and wondering why the deer was docile enough to not hurt other creatures and a lion was evil enough to eat deer. It's just how the world is made. It's how the world works. It's not evil, it's not malicious. It is the complexity of the world that makes it worth marveling at.

"I don't know how the world works." And I don't think it's that simple.

"The world is not so simple to understand," Chronos sniffles haughtily. "And luckily for you, you passed the first test."

"I only feel more confused." Annabeth would call him a Seaweed Brain. He misses his friends a little. Just a dull ache. He's just seen them after all. In a way, at least.

"No," Chronos tells him. This time, a bit more softer. "Earlier, you used to believe in your idea of a world." An ant looking at the infinite skies. "Now you know better. Most people will have an idea of what the world should be. And they don't, they can't look beyond that. Understanding what the world is like is the hard part. Accepting it is the hardest yet."

"I don't understand." He admitted, hesitantly.

"Go home, child." The Primordial tells him dismissively. "Know that there is no absolute truth. Just different sides to the same argument. There is no right or wrong, no truth or lie. It just is."

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Chronos looks down at him, an eyebrow raised in quiet daring. "My dear, you do what we all do. You learn to live with it. Your world is a little bigger than it was before, you can see a little clearer." At Percy's still-uncomprehending look, he adds. "Or will, I suppose."

And just like that, he's sitting on his bed in Atlantis, cross-legged and thoughtful. He doesn't have to look in a mirror to know his eyes burn the soft green of his eyes to an intense hazel gold-moss green shade.

He can feel his veins on fire, burning off his mortality, reminding him of times long past and times to come and times that are. If he looks hard enough, he'll start seeing the constellations in the skies and learn the incomprehensible mysteries of the divine.

If he waits, he'll understand the gods and be the god and this thing inside his soul will eat him, consume him and change him until it awakens the _thing_ waiting to surface, waiting for a blade of blood and tears and his blood to turn to smoke, until it consumes him _whole_ and he'll still be reborn as _more,_ not less, no. Never less.

When (not an if anymore) he is something else, someone else, he'll have a father, a mother and a brother who know him better than he knows himself and he'll have known them just as well too.

They'll be there to hold his hand and he'll have what it takes to hold theirs back just as hard. He sits and thinks and falls back in time. He knows they'll catch him.

_Sometime, somewhere before or after or during all this, he is looking up at the (not so) infinite sky and he looks to his right and Apollo is laying there, eyes trained to the skies. It's not cheesy. He's not looking at Percy. They're just existing without expectations. They just are._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is quite not what most of you were expecting. But this was always the premise of the story. I had just intended it to be bigger, so we could all absorb such an abstract idea. But the thing is, it wasn't about just Apollo's character arc. He was never gonna magically grow the sort of conscience we were hoping he would grow. It was always, always about him growing up in a different sort of way. And Percy had to learn a few hard truths too, I suppose. That being said, this is the sort of ending that leaves plenty of scope for a long-winded sequel (and multiple one-shots) if I ever want to get back to it. We're still missing the pieces and I hope I'll come back to this to fill the voids but for now, this is a hopeful ending. I like this ending. Do let me know what you guys feel about this.
> 
> For all those who've stuck by me and this fic, thank you. Seriously. This fic is such a small thing from another's perspective but it's given me a different kind of confidence. I'm so happy I managed to end it. I feel so good about it.
> 
> It has also given me the motivation to take out some of my fics that I had written before but never had the confidence to publish. They might not all be great or even good, but I thought, let's give it a whirl.
> 
> EDIT (12/12/2020): It's purposely a little vague. Essentially, Percy is the god of time and space. But the thing is, right now, he's so young and untrained, his domains own and control him instead of the other way 'round. He keeps falling through time streams and ends up in alternate spaces. He himself changes shapes and sizes.  
> Basically, it's an alternative, true set of events, unbiased by anyone's eyes. He keeps running into Triton, but he can't tell if it's the past or the present. Of course, reader, that was the reason for their instant connection in earlier chapters. They didn't realize it, but some paths had already been chosen and set in stone. He peeks into his friends' and family's life-times. Past, present, future blur. Time blurs. Space bends. At the end, he hasn't grown enough, not yet. He doesn't understand yet. But there is potential to grow and we all see it too.


End file.
